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SAVED BY GRASPING A FERt 



Se« p. 430. 



J TRAVELS 

i 

■K ■ 



EAST IKDIAI^ ARCHIPELAGO. 



BY 

ALBEET S. BICKMOEE, M. A., 

CORKESPONDIKG MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN AND LONDON ETHNOLOGICAL SOCIETIES, 

NEW-TORK LYCEUM OP NATURAL HISTORY, MEMBER OP THE BOSTON SOCIETY 

OF NATURAL HISTORY AND AMERICAN ORIENTAL SOCIETY, AND 

'* PROFESSOR OP NATURAL HISTORY IN MADISON 

UTSriVERSITY, HAMILTON, N. Y. 



> 



\J 



NEW YORK: 
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, 

90, 92 & 94 GRAND STREET. 
1869. 

(1 / 



Enteeed, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by 
ALBERT S. BICKMOKE, 
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the 
District of Maine. 



> 






■^ 



TO 
THE GENEROUS FRIENDS OF SCIENCE 

IN 

BOSTON AND CAMBRIDGE, 

THROUGH WHOSE LIBERALITY THE TRAVELS 

HEREIN DESCRIBED WERE MADE, 

THIS VOLUME 



£s aaesjiectfuUi? HcHicatcH. 



PEEFAOE. 



The object of my voyage to Amboina was simply 
to re-collect tlie shells figured in Rjimpliius's " Rari- 
teit Kamer " and the idea of writing a volume of 
travels was not seriously entertained until I arrived 
at Batavia, and, instead of being forbidden by tlie 
Dutcli Government to proceed to tlie Spice Islands, 
as some of my warmest Mends feared, I was honored 
by His Excellency, the Governor-General of " the 
Netherlands India," with the order given on page 
40. 

Having fully accomplished that object, I availed 
myself of the unexampled facilities to travel af- 
forded me in every part of the archipelago, and all 
except the first six chapters describe the regions 
thus visited. 

The narrative given has been taken almost en- 
tirely from my journal, which was kept day by day 
with scrupulous care. Accuracy, even at any sacri- 



6 PREFACE. 

fice of elegance, lias been aimed at throughout ; and 
fii'st impressions are presented as modified hj subse- 
quent observation. 

My sincerest thanks are herein expressed to the 
liberal gentlemen to whom this volume is dedicated ; 
to Baron Sloet van de Beele, formerly Governor- 
General of the Netherlands India ; to Mr. ^N". A. T. 
Aniens, formerly Governor of the Moluccas ; to Mr. 
J. F. B,. S. van den Bosche, formerly Governor of the 
West Coast of Sumatra ; to the many officers of 
the Netherlands Government, and to the Dutch and 
American merchants who entertained me with the 
most cordial hospitality, and aided me in every pos- 
sible way throughout the East Indian Archipelago. 



Oambeidge, Mass., U. S. A., 
Sept. 1, 1868. 



CONTEITTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE STRAIT OF STJNDA AND BATAVIA. 

Object of the Travels described in this volume — Nearing the coast of Java- 
Balmy breezes of the Eastern Isles — ^King bolus's favorite seat — A veil of 
rain — First view of Malays — Entering the Java Sea — The Malay language- 
Early history of Java — Marco Polo^Hinduism in Java — History of Bata- 
via — The roadstead of Batavia — The city of Batavia — Houses of Europeans 
— Mode of cooking — Characteristics of the Malays — Collecting butterflies — 
Visit Rahden Saleh — Attacked av ith a fever — receive a letter from the Gov- 
ernor-General 13-41 

CHAPTER II. 

SAMARANG AND SURABAYA. 

Sail from Batavia for the Moluccas — My companions — Mount Slamat — The 
north coast of Java — Mount Prahu — Temples at Boro Bodo and Bramba- 
nan — Samarang — Mohammedan mosque — History of Mohammedanism — 
Mount Japara— The Guevo Upas, or Valley of Poison— Gresik— Novel 
mode of navigating mud-flats — Surabaya — Government dock-yard and ma- 
chine-shops—Zoological gardens — History of Hinduism— The Klings— Ex- 
cursion to a sugar plantation — Roads and telegraphic routes in Java — 
Malay mode of gathering rice — The kinds of sugar-cane . . 42-70 

CHAPTER III. 

THE FLORA AND FAUNA OF THE TROPICAL EAST. 

Leave Surabaya for Macassar — Madura — The Sapi — Manufacture of salt — The 
Tenger Mountains — The Sandy Sea— Eruptions of Mount Papandayang and 
Mount Galunggong — Java and Cuba compared — The forests of Java — Fauna 
of Java— The cocoa-nut palm— The Pandanus— The banana— Tropical fruits 
— The mangostin — The rambutan — mango— duku — durian — bread-fruit — 



CONTENTS. 

Bali — Javanese traditions — Limit between the fauna of Asia and that 
of Australia — A plateau beneath the sea — Caste and suttee practices on 
Bali '71-96 



CHAPTER IV. 

CELEBES AND TIMUE. 

History of Celebes — De Barros — Diogo de Cauto — Head-hunters of Celeoes — 
The harbor of Macassar — ^Voyages of the Bugis — Skilful diving — ^Fort Rot- 
terdam — The Societeit, or Club — ^A drive into the country — The tomb of a 
native merchant — Tombs of ancient princes — Sail for Kupang, in Timiir — 
Flying-fish — The Gunong Api in Sapi Strait — Gillibanta — Sumbawa — Erup- 
tion of Mount Tomboro — The Eye of the Devil — ^Tloris and Sandal-wood 
Island — Kupang — Fruits on Timur — Its barrenness and the cause of it — 
Difiereut kinds of people seen at Kupang — Human sacrifice — ^Purchas- 
ing shells — Geology of the vicinity of Kupang — Sail for Dilli — ^Village 
of Dilli — Islands north of Timur — The Bandas — Monsoons in the Java 
and China Seas 97-129 



CHAPTER V. 



Description of the island and city of Amboina — Dutch mode of governing the 
natives — A pleasant home — A living nautilus is secured — Excursion to 
Hitu — Hassar steering — History of the cocoa-tree — Indian corn — Hunting 
in the tropics — Butterflies — Excursion along the shores of Hitu for shells — 
Mode of travelling in the Spice Islands — The pine-apple — Covered bridges — 
Hitulama — ^Purchasing specimens — History of the Spice Islands — Enormous 
hermit-crabs — ^An exodus — Assilulu — Babirusa shells from Burn — Great 
curiosities — Jewels in the brains of snakes and wild boars — Description of 
the clove-tree — History of the clove-trade — ^Watched by the rajah's wives — 
Lariki and Wakasihu — A storm in the height of the southeast monsoon — 
Variety of native dialects — Dangerous voyage by night — An earthquake — 
Excursion to Tulahu ISO-lVG 

CHAPTER VI. 

THE ULIASSERS AND CEEAM. 

The arrival of the mail at Amboina — The Uliassers — Chewing the betel-nut and 
siri — Haruku — ^We strike on a reef— Saparua Island, village, and bay — 
Nusalaut — Strange reception — An Eastern banquet — Examining the native 
schools — Different classes of natives — ^Yield of cloves in the Uliassers — Nul- 
lahia, Amet, and Abobo — Breaking of the surf on the coral reefs — Tanjong 
— Travel by night — Ceram — Elpaputi Bay and Amahai — Alfura, or head- 



CONTENTS. 9 

hunters, come down from the mountains and dance before us — ^Land on the 
south coast of Ceram — Fiendish revels of the natives — Return to Saparua 
andAmboina 17Y-212 

CHAPTER YII. 



Governor Arriens invites me to accompany him to Banda — The Gunong Api — 
Road of the Bandas — Banda Neira and its forts — Geology of Lontar — The 
Bandas and the crater in the Tenger Mountains compared — The groves of 
nutmeg-trees — The canari-tree — Orang Datang — We ascend the volcano — 
In imminent peril — The crater — Perilous descent — Eruptions of Gunong 
Api — Earthquakes at Neira — Great extent of the Residency of Banda — The 
Ki andArru Islands — Return to Amboina — Geology of the island of Amboi- 
na — Trade of Amboina — The grave of Rumphius — His history . 213-252 

CHAPTER VIII. 



Adieu to Amboina — North coast of Ceram — ^Wahai — Burn — Kayeli — Excur- 
sions to various parts of the bay — ^A home in the forest — Malay cuisine — 
Tobacco and maize — Flocks of parrots — Beautiful birds — History of Burn — 
The religion and laws of the Alfura — Shaving the head of a young child — A 
wedding-feast — Marriage laws in Mohammedan countries — A Malay mar- 
riage — Opium, its effects and its history — Kayu-puti oil — Gardens beneath 
the sea — Roban — Skinning birds — Tropical pests — ^A deer-hunt — Binding — 
A threatening fleet — ^A page of romance — ^A last glance at Buru 253-297 

CHAPTER IX. 

TERNATE, TIDORE, AND GILOLO. 

Seasons in Ceram and Buru — Bachian and Makian — Eruptions of Ternate — Ma- 
gellan — Former monopolies — The bloodhounds of Gilolo — Migrations — A 
birth-mark — The Molucca Passage — ^Malay pirates — They challenge the 
Dutch 298-322 

CHAPTER 5. 

THE NORTHERN PENINSULA OF CELEBES. 

Mount Klabat — Kema — A hunt for babirusa — A camp by the sea — Enormous 

snakes — From Kema to Menado — Eruption of Mount Kemaas — Population 

of the Minahassa — Thrown from a horse — The Bantiks — A living death — 

■ History of the coffee-tree — In the jaws of a crocodile — The bay of Menado — 

Lake Linu — A grove by moonlight 323-355 



10 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XI. 

THE MINAHASSA. 

The waterfall of Tinchep — A mud-well — A boiling pool — The aucient appear- 
ance of our earth — Lake Tondano — One of the finest views in the world — 
Palm-wine — Graves of the natives — Christianity and education — Tanjong 
Fiasco — Gold-mines in Celebes — The island of Buton — Macassar — A raving 
maniac 356-383 

CHAPTER XII. 

SUMATRA. 

Padang — Beautiful drives — Crossing the streams — The cleft — Crescent-shaped 
roofs— Distending the lobe of the ear — Canons — The great crater of Manin- 
dyu — ^Immense amphitheatres — Ophir — Gold-mines . . . 384-405 

CHAPTER XIII. 

TO THE LAND OF THE CANNIBALS. 

Valley of Bondyol — ^Monkeys — The orang-utan — Lubu Sikeping — Tigers and 
buffaloes — The Valley of Ran — ^A Batta grave — Riding along the edge of a 
precipice — Twilight and evening — Padang Si dempuan-^ Among the canni- 
bals — Descent from the Barizan — The suspension bridge of rattan — Orna- 
ments of gold — The camphor-tree . . . . . . 407-434 

CHAPTER XIV. 

RETURN TO PADANG 

Bay of Tapanuli — The Devil's Dwelling — Dangerous fording — Among the Bat- 
tas — Missionaries and their brides — The feasts of the cannibals — The pep- 
per trade — The English appear in the East — Struck by a heavy squall — Ayar 
Bangis and Natal — The king's birthday — Malay ideas of greatness 435-457 

CHAPTER XV. 

THE PADANG PLATEAU. 

Thunder and lightning in the tropics — Paya Kombo and the Bua Valley — The 
Bua cave — Up the valley to Suka Rajah — Ancient capitals of Menangkabau — 
The reformers of Korinchi — Malay mode of making matchlocks — ^A simple 
meal — Geological history of the plateau — The Thirteen Confederate Towns — 
The ilanks of the Merapi — Natives of the Pagi Islands — ^Where the basin of 
the Indian Ocean begins . ...... 458-485 



CONTENTS. 11 

* CHAPTER XVI. 

CROSSING SUMATRA. 

Bay of Bencoolen — Rat Island — Loss of Governor Raffles's collection — A trap 
for tigers — Blood-suckers — Pits for the rhinoceros — virgin children — Pla- 
teau of the Musi — From Kopaiyong to Kaban Agong — Natives destroyed 
by tigers — Sumatra's wealth — The Anak gadis — Troops of monkeys — From 
Tebing Tingi to Bunga Mas — We come upon an elephant — Among tigers — 
The Pasuma people — Horseback travel over — The land of game 486-520 

CHAPTER XVII. 

PALEMBANG, BANCA, AND SINGAPORE. 

Mount Dempo — Rafts of cocoa-nuts — Floating down the Limatang — Cotton 
— From Purgatory to Paradise — ^Palembang — The Kubus — Banca — Pre- 
sented with a python — The python escapes — A struggle for life — Sail for 
China 521-542 

Appendix A. Area of the principal islands, according to Baron van 

Carnbee 543 

" B. Population of the Netherlands India, 1865 . . . 544 
" C. A table of heights of the principal mountains in the archi- 
pelago 544 

" D. Coffee sold by the government at Padang .... 545 
" E. Tradeof Java and Madura during 1864 . . . .546 

Indes 547 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



SAVED BY GRASPING A FEEN, .... 

WIVES OF ONE OF THE HIGHEST PRINCES IN JAVA, 

POULTRY-VENDER, 

GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS, BATAVIA, 

JAVANESE AND FAMILY, 

RAHDEN SALEH, 

RAHDEN SALEH' S PALACE, . 

WATERING THE STREETS, JAVA, 

AKLING, 

A TANDU, . . . 
THE SAPI, OR OX OF MADURA, 

BAMBOO, 

FRUIT-MARKET, JAVA, 

A CHINESE TOMB, . 

BETEL-NUT PALM, 

MALAY BELLES, 

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF THE JAVANESE, 

A DYAK OR HEAD-HUNTER OF BORNEO, 

LANDING THROUGH THE SUKF, CERAM, 

THE LONTAE PALM, .... 

MALAY OPIUM-SMOKER, 

A TROPICAL JUNGLE, 

THE GOMUTI PALM, .... 

APPROACH TO THE CLOVE, NEAR PADANG, 

WOMAN OF THE PADANG PLATEAU, 

RIDING ALONG THE EDGE OF A PRECIPICE, 

SUSPENSION BRIDGE OF RATTAN, 

NATIVE OF THE ISLAND OF NIAS, 

NATIVE OF BILUCHISTAN, . 

SCENE IN THE INTERIOR OF SUMATRA, 

NATIVES OF THE PAGI ISLANDS, . 

RIVER SCENE, SUMATRA, . 

WOMEN OF PALEMBANG, 

PALEMBANG AT HIGH WATER, . 

SINGAPORE, .... 

KILLING THE PYTHON, . 



Frontispiece. 

. PAGE 26 

" 27 
" 30 
" 34 



131 

180 
183 
190 
200 
208 
222 
281 
281 
3TO 



419 
428 

445 
448 
462 



580 
530 
636 
541 



TRAVELS 



EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO 



CHAPTER I. 

THE STEAIT OF SUNDA AND BATAVIA. 

On the 19 til of April, 1865, I was fifty miles east 
of Cliristnias Island, floating on tlie good stip " Mem- 
non " toward the Strait of Smida. 

I was going to Batavia, to sail thence to the Spice 
Islands, which lie east of Celebes, for the purpose of 
collecting the beautiful shells of those seas. 

I had chosen that in preference to any other part 
of the world, because the first collection of shells 
from the East that was ever described and figured 
with sufficient accuracy to be of any scientific value 
was made by Rumphius, a doctor who lived many 
years at Amboina, the capital of those islands. His 
great work, the " Rariteit Kamer," or Chamber of 
Curiosities, was published in 1705, more than sixty 
years before the twelfth edition of the " Systema Na- 
turae " was issued by Linnaeus, " the Father of Natural 
History," who referred to the figures in that work 



14 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

to illustrate a part of Ms own writings. When Hol- 
land became a province of France, in 1811, and it was 
desig^ned to make Paris the centre of science and lit- 
eratnre in Europe, it is said that this collection was 
taken from Leyden to that city, and afterward re- 
turned, and that during these two transfers a large 
proportion of the specimens disappeared ; and that, 
finally, what was left of this valuable collection was 
scattered through the great museum at Ley den. It 
was partly to restore Eumphius's specimens, and 
partly to bring into our own country such a standard 
collection, that I was going to search myself for the 
shells figured in the " Rariteit Kamer," on the very 
points and headlands, and in the very bays, where 
Rum]3hius's specimens were found. 

As we neared the coast of Java, cocoa-nuts and 
fragments of sea- washed palms, drifting by, indicated 
our approach to a land very different at least from 
the temperate shores we had left behin.d; and we 
could in some degree experience Columbus's pleasure, 
when he first saw the new branch and its vermilion 
berries. Strange, indeed, must be this land to which 
we are coming, for here we see snakes swimming on 
the water, and occasionally fi'agments of rock drifting 
over the sea. New birds also appear, now sailing 
singly through the sky, and now hovering in flocks 
over certain places, hoping to satisfy their hungry 
maws on the small fishes that follow the fioating drift- 
wood. Here it must be that the old Dutch sailors 
fabled could be seen the tree — ^then unknown — ^that 
bore that strange fruit, the double cocoa-nut. They 
always represented it as rising up from a great depth 



BALMY BREEZES OF THE EASTERN ISLES, 15 

and spreading out its uppermost leaves on the surface 
of tlie sea. It was guarded by a "bird, that was not 
bird but half beast ; and when a ship came near, 
she was always drawn irresistibly toward this spot, 
and not one of her ill-fated crew ever escaped the 
beak and formidable talons of this insatiable harpy. 

But such wonders unfortunately fade away before 
the light of advancing knowledge ; and the prince 
of Ceylon, who is said to have given a whole vessel 
laden with spice for a single specimen, could have 
satisfied his heart's fullest desire if he had only kno^vn 
it was not rare on the Seychelles, north of Mauri- 
tius. 

The trades soon became light and bafiling. Heavy 
rain- squalls, with thunder and lightning, were fre- 
quent ; and three days after, as one of these cleared 
away, the high mountain near Java Head appeared 
full a quarter of a degree above the horizon, its black 
shoulders rising out of a beautiful mantle of the 
ermine- white, fleecy clouds, called cumuli. 

Although we were thirty-five miles from the shore, 
yet large numbers of dragon-flies came round the 
shij), and I quickly im|)rovised a net and captured a 
goodly number of them. 

After sunset, there was a light air off-shore, which 
carried us to within a few miles of the land, and at 
midnight the captain called me on deck to enjoy 
" the balmy breezes of the Eastern isles ; " and cer- 
tainly to myself, as well as to the others, the air 
seemed to have the rich fragrance of new-mown clover, 
but far more spicy. At that hour it was quite clear, 
but at sunrise a thick haze rose up from the ocean, 



16 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

and this plienomenon was repeated eacL. morning that 
we were trying to enter the Strait of Sunda. As we 
had arrived during the changing of the monsoons, 
calms were so continuous that for six days we tried 
in vain to gain fifty miles. When a breeze would 
take us up near the mouth of the channel, it would 
then die away and let a strong current sweep ns 
away to the east, and one time we were carried most 
un]3leasantly near the high, threatening crags at Pa- 
lembang Point, near Java Head. Those who have 
passed Sunda at this time of the year, or Ombay 
Strait in the beginning of the opposite monsoon, mil 
readily recall the many weary hours they have passed 
waiting for a favorable breeze to take them only a 
few miles farther on their long voyage. 

During those six days, at noon the sun poured 
down his hottest rays, the thermometer ranging from 
88° to 90° Fahr. in the shade, and not the slightest air 
moving to afford a momentary relief. Although con- 
stantly for a year I was almost under the equator, 
these six days were the most tedious and oppressive 
I ever experienced. 

The mountain back of Java Head seemed to be 
King Eolus's favorite seat. Clouds would come from 
every quarter of the heavens and gather round its 
summit, while the sun was reaching the zenith ; but 
soon after he began to pass down the western sky, 
lightnings would be seen darting their forked tongues 
around the mountain-crest : and then, as if the winds 
had broken from the grasp of their king, thick cloud- 
masses would suddenly roll down the mountain-sides, 
lightnings dart hither and thither, and again and 



A VEIL OF RAIN. 17 

again tlie thunders would crasli aiid roar enougL. to 
shake the very firmament. 

We are not alone. Six or eight vessels are also 
detained here — for this Strait of Sunda is the great 
gate through which pass out most of the valuable 
teas and costly silks of China and Japan, and these 
ships are carrying cotton goods to those lands to ex- 
change in part for such luxuries. On the evening of 
the sixth day a more favorable breeze took us slowly 
up the channel past a group ^^ large rocks, where 
the unceasing swell of the ocean was breaking, and 
making them sound in the quiet night like the howl- 
ing and snarling of some fierce monster set to guard 
the way and unable to prevent his expected prey 
from escaping. 

With the morning came a fine breeze, and, as we 
sailed up the strait, several small showers passed 
over the mountains, parallel to the shore, on the 
Java side ; and once a long cloud rested its ends on 
two mountains, and unfolded from its dark mass a 
thin veil of sparkling rain, through which we could 
see quite distinctly all the outlines gind the bright- 
green foliage of the valley behind it. . The highly- 
cultivated lands near the water, and on the lower 
declivities of the mountains, whose tops were one 
dense mass of perennial green, made the whole view 
most enchanting to me ; but our captain (who was 
a Cape Cod man) declared that the sand-hills on 
the outer side of Cape Cod were vastly more charm- 
ing to him. On the shallows, near the shore, the 
clear sea- water took a beautifal tint of emerald 
green in the bright sunlight, and here we passed 

2 



18 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

long lines of cuttle-fisli "bones and parts of mysteri- 
ous fruits wliere tlie tides met, that were setting in 
different directions. 

Nearly all tlie islands in tlie strait are steep, 
volcanic cones, witli tlieir l)ases beneath tlie sea ; tlie 
brigM-green foliage on tlieir sides forming an agree- 
able contrast witli tlie blue ocean at tlieir feet wlien 
tlie waves roll away before a strong breeze ; but 
when it is calm, and the water reflects the light, as 
from a polished mirror, they appear like gigantic 
emeralds set in a sea of silver. 

As we approached Angir, where ships bound 
to and from China frequently stop for fresh provi- 
sions, we saw, to our great alarm, a steamship ! Was 
it the pirate Shenandoah, and was our ship to be 
taken and burnt there, almost at the end of our long 
voyage ? I must confess that was what we all 
feared till we came near enough to see the " Stars 
and Stripes " of the loyal flag of our native land. 

Here many Malays paddled off in their canoes to 
sell us fruit. We watch the approach of the first 
boat with a peculiar, indescribable interest. It con- 
tains two young men, who row. They are dressed 
in trousers and jackets of calico, with cotton handker- 
chiefs tied round their heads. This is the usual 
dress throughout the archijDelago, except that, in- 
stead of the trousers or over them, is worn the sarong^ 
which is a piece of cotton cloth, two yards long by a 
yard wide, with the two shorter sides sewn together, 
so as to make a bag open at the top and bottom. 
The men draw this on over the body, and gather it 
on the right hip ; the loose part is then twisted, and 



ENTEEING THE JAVA SEA. 19 

tucked under tlie part passing around tlie iDody, so 
as to form a rude knot. Tkere is a man in tke stern, 
sitting witli kis feet under kim, steering tke canoe, 
and at tke same time kelping it onward witk kis 
paddle. He is dressed in a close-fitting red skirt ? 
No ! He is not encumbered witk any clotking ex- 
cept wkat Nature kas provided for kim, save a nar- 
row clotk about kis loins, tke usual working-costume 
of tke coolies, or poorer classes. He brings several 
kinds of bananas, green cocoa-nuts, and tke " pom- 
pelmus," wkick is a gigantic orange, from six to 
eigkt inckes in diameter. He seems perfectly kapjDy, 
and talks witk tke most surprising rapidity. From 
an occasional word tkat may be kalf Englisk, we 
suppose, like traders in tke Western world, ke is 
speaking in no moderate manner of tke value of 
wkat ke kas to sell. 

Mount Karang, back of Angii', now comes into 
view, raising its crest of green foliage to a keigkt of 
five tkousand feet ; a ligkt breeze takes us round Cape 
St. Nickolas, tke nortkwest extremity of Java. It is a 
kigk land, witk skarp ridges coming down to tke 
water, tkus forming a series of little rocky keadlands, 
separated by small sandy bays. Tkese, as we sail 
along, come up, and open to our view witk a most 
ckarming panoramic effect. Near tke skore a few 
Malays are seen on tkeir praus^ or large boats, wkile 
otkers appear in groups on tke beackes, around tkeir 
canoes, and only now and tken do we catck glimpses 
of tkeir rude kouses under tke featkery leaves of tke 
cocoa-nut palm. 

We are in tke Java Sea. It seems very strange, 



20 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

after being j)itc]ied and tossed about constantly for 
more tlian a liundred days, tlius to feel our sMp 
glide along so steadily; and after scanning the 
horizon by tlie hour, day after day, hoping to be 
able to discern one vessel, and so feel that we had at 
least one comj)anion on " the wide waste of waters," 
now to see land on every side, and small boats scat- 
tered in all directions over the quiet sea. That 
night we anchored near Babi Island, on a bottom of 
very soft, sticky clay, largely composed of fragments 
of shells and coral. A boat came off from the shore, 
and, as the coxswain could speak a little English, 
I took my first lesson in Malay, the common lan- 
guage, or lingua franca^ of the whole archipelago. 
As it was necessary, at least, that I should be able 
to talk with these natives if I would live among them, 
and purchase shells of them, it was my first and most 
imperative task, on reaching the East, to acquire this 
language. The Malay sj)oken at Batavia, and at 
all the Dutch ports and posts in the islands to the 
east, differs very much from the high or pure Malay 
spoken in the Menangkabau country, in the interior 
of Sumatra, north of Padang, whence the Malays 
originally came : after passing from island to island, 
they have spread over all Malaysia, that is, the great 
archipelago between Asia, Australia, and New Guin- 
ea, Perhaps of all languages in the world, the low 
or common Malay is the one most readily acquired. 
It contains no harsh guttm-als or other consonants 
that are difficult to pronounce. It is soft and musi- 
cal, and somewhat resembles the Italian in its liquid 
sounds ; and one who has learned it can never fail 



EARLY HISTORY OF JAVA. 21 

to Ibe cliarmed by tlie nice "blending of vowels and 
consonants whenever a word is pronounced in Ms 
presence. The only difficult thing in this language 
is, that words of widely different meaning sometimes 
are so similar that, at first, one may be mistaken for 
another. Every European in all the Netherlands 
India speaks Malay. It is the only language used in 
addressing servants ; and all the European children 
born on these islands learn it from their Malay 
nurses long before they are able to speak the lan- 
guage of their parents. Such children generally find 
it difficult to make the harsh, guttural sounds of the 
Dutch language, and the Malays themselves are 
never able to speak it well ; and, for the same 
reason, Dutchmen seldom speak Malay as correctly as 
Englishmen and Frenchmen. 

We are now off the ancient city of Bantam, and 
we naturally here review the voyages of the earliest 
European navigators in these seas, and the principal 
events in the ancient history of this rich island of 
J ava. 

The word Java, or, more correctly, " Jawa," is 
the name of the people who originally lived only in 
the eastern part of the island, but, in more modern 
times, they have spread over the whole island, and 
given it their name. The Chinese claim to have 
known it in ancient times, and call it Chi-po or 
Cha-po, which is as near Jawa as their pronuncia- 
tion of most foreign names at the present day. 

It was first made known to the Western world by 
that great traveller, Marco Polo, in his description 
of the lands he saw or passed while on his voyage 



22 TEAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

from CMna to the Persian Gulf, in tlie latter part of 
tlie tMrteenth. century. He did not see it himself, but 
only gathered accounts in regard to it from others. He 
calls it Griaua, and says it produces cloves and nut- 
megs, though we know now that they were all 
brought to Java from the Spice Islands, farther to 
the east. In regard to gold, he says it yielded a 
quantity " exceeding all calculation and belief." 
This was also j)robably brought from other islands, 
chiefly from Sumatra, Borneo, and Celebes. 

In 1493, one year after the discovery of America 
by Columbus, Bartholomew Dias, a Portuguese, dis- 
covered the southern extremity of Africa, which he 
called the Cape of Storms, but which his king said 
should be named the Cape of Good Hope, because 
it gave a good liope that, at last, they had discovered 
a way to India by sea. Accordingly, the next year, 
this king * sent Pedro da Covilham and Alfonso de 
Payva directly to the east to settle this important 
question. From Genoa they came to Alexandria in 
the guise of travelling merchants, thence to Cairo, 
and down the Red Sea to Aden. Here they sepa- 
rated — Payva to search for " Prester John," a Chris- 
tian prince, said to be reigning in Abyssinia over 
a people of high cultivation ; and Covilham to visit 
the Indies, it having been arranged that they should 
meet again at Cairo or Memphis. Payva died before 
reaching the principal city of Abyssinia, but Covil- 
ham had a prosj)erous journey to India, where he 
made drawings of the cities and harbors, especially 
of Goa and Calicut (Calcutta), and marked their 

* Yalentyn, " History of the Moluccas." 



EARLY VOYAGES TO THE EAST. 23 

positions on a map given Lim by King Jolin of 
Portugal. Tlience lie returned along tlie coast of 
Persia to Cape Guardafui, and continued soutli to 
Mozambique and " Zofala," where lie ascertained 
that tliat land joined the Cape of Good Hoj)e, and 
thus was the first man who li,neio that it was possible 
to sail from Europe to India. From Zofala he re- 
turned to Abyssinia, and sent his diary, charts, and 
drawings to Genoa by some Portuguese merchants 
who were trading at Memj)his. 

On receiving this news, King Emanuel, who had 
succeeded King John, sent out, during the following 
year, 1495, four ships under Vasco di Gama, who 
visited Natal and Mozambique ; in 1498 he was at 
Calcutta, and in 1499 back at Lisbon. 

In 1509 the Portuguese, under Sequiera, first came 
into the archipelago. During the next year Alfonso 
Albuquerque visited Sumatra, and in 1511 took the 
Malay city Malacca, and established a military j)ost 
from which he sent out Antonio d'Abreu to search 
for the Spice Islands. On his way eastward. 
D'Abreu touched at Agasai (Gresik) on Java. 

In 1511 the Portuguese visited Bantam, and two 
years later Alvrin was sent from Malacca with four 
vessels to bring away a cargo of spices from a ship 
wrecked on the Java coast while on her way back 
from the Spice Islands. 

Ludovico Barthema was the first European who 
described Java from personal observation. He re- 
mained on it fourteen days, but his descriptions 
are questionable in part, for he represents parents as 
selling their children, to be eaten by their purchasers. 



24 TEAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

and himself as quitting the island in haste for fear 
of being made a meal of. 

In 1596 the Dutch, under Houtman, first arrived 
off Bantam, and, finding the native king at war with 
the Portuguese, readily furnished him with assistance 
against their rivals, on his offering to give them a 
place where they could establish themselves and 
commence purchasing pepper, which at that time was 
almost the only export. 

The English, following the example of the Portu- 
guese and the Dutch, sent out a fleet in 1602, during 
the reign of Queen Elizabeth. These ships touched 
at Achin, on the western end of Sumatra, and thence 
sailed to Bantam. 

In 1610 the Dutch built a fort at a native village 
called Jacatra, " the work of victory," but which they 
named Batavia. This was destroyed in 1619, and 
the first Dutch governor-general, Bolt, decided to 
rebuild it and remove his settlement from Bantam to 
that place, which was done on the 4th of March of 
that year. This was the foundation of the present 
city of Batavia. The English, who had meantime 
maintained an establishment at Bantam, withdrew 
in 1683. 

In 1811, when Holland became subject to France, 
the French flag was hoisted at Batavia, but that 
same year it was captured by the English. On the 
19th of August, 1816, they restored it to the Dutch, 
who have held it uninterruptedly down to the pres- 
ent time. 

In glancing at the internal history of Java, we 
find that, for many centuries previous to a. d. 1250, 



INTERNAL HISTORY OF JAVA. 25 

Hinduism, tliat is, a mixture of Bucldliism and Brah- 
minism, liad Ibeen tlie prevailing religion. At tliat 
time an attempt was made to convert the reigning 
prince to Mohammedanism. This j^roved unsuccess- 
ful; but so soon afterward did this new religion 
gain a foothold, and so rapidly did it spread, that in 
1475, at the overthrow of the great empire of Maja- 
pahit, who ruled over the whole of Java and the east- 
ern parts of Sumatra, a Mohammedan 23rince took the 
throne. Up to this time the people in the western 
part of Java, as far east as Cheribon (about Long. 
109°), spoke a language called Sundanese, and only 
the people in the remaining eastern j)art of the 
island spoke Javanese; but in 1811 nine-tenths of 
the whole population of Java spoke Javanese, and 
the Sundanese was already confined to the moun- 
tainous parts of the south and west, and to a small 
colony near Bantam. 

Soon after founding Batavia, the Dutch made an 
alliance offensive and defensive with the chief prince, 
who resided near Surakarta. Various chiefs rebelled 
fi'om time to time against his authority, and the 
Dutch, in return for the assistance they rendered 
him, obtained the site of the present city of Samar- 
ang ; and in this way they continued to increase 
their area until 1749, when the prince then reigning 
signed an ofS.cial deed " to abdicate for himself and 
for his heirs the sovereignty of the country, confer- 
ring the same on the Dutch East India Company, and 
leaving them to dispose of it, in future, to any per- 
son they might think competent to govern it for the 
benefit of the company and of Java." Seven years 



26 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

before tMs time tlie empire liad been nominally di- 
vided, tlie hereditary j)rince being styled Susunan, 
or " object of adoration," wliose descendants now re- 
side at Surakarta, near Solo ; and a second prince, 
wIlo was styled Sultan, and wliose descendants re- 
side at Jokyokarta. Eack receives a large annuity 
from tke Dutck Government, and keeps a great num- 
ber of servants. Tkeir wives are ckosen from all tke 
native beauties in tke land, and tke engraving we give 
from a pkotograpk represents tkose of one of tke 
kigkest dignitaries in full costume, but barefoot, just 
as tkey dress tkemselves on festive occasions to dance 
before tkeir lord and kis assembled guests. 

Tke next day wken tke sea-breeze came, about 
one o'clock, we sailed up tkrougk tke many islands 
of tkis part of tke coast of Java. Tkey are all very 
low and flat, and covered witk a skort, dense skrub- 
bery, out of wkick rise tke tall cocoa-nut palm and. 
tke waringin or Indian iig. Tkis green foliage is 
only separated from tke sea by a narrow beack of 
ivory- wkite coral sand, wkick reflects tke brigkt ligkt 
of tke noonday sun until it becomes positively daz- 
zling. Wkere tke banks are muddy, mangrove-trees 
are seen below kigk-water level, kolding on to tke 
soft eartk witk kundreds of brancking rootlets, as if 
trying to claim as land wkat really is tke dominion 
of tke sea. 

Tkis dense vegetation is one of tke great ckarac- 
teristics of tkese tropical islands ; and tke constantly 
varied grouping of tke palms, mangroves, and otker 
trees, and tke irregular contour and relief of tke 
skores, ajfford an endless series of exquisite views. 




POULTRY-VENDER. 



p. 27. 



From a phototrraph. 



THE ROAD OF BATAVIA. 27 

As we passed one of tlie outer islands, its trees were 
quite covered witli kites, gulls, and other sea-birds. 

The next evening we came to tlie Batavia road, 
a shallow bay where ships lie at anchor j)artially 
sheltered from the sea by the many islands scattered 
about its entrance. The shores of this bay form a 
low, muddy morass, but high mountains appear in the 
distance. Through this morass a canal has been cut. 
Its sides are well walled in, and extend out some dis- 
tance toward the shipping, on account of the shal- 
lowness of the water along the shore. At the end 
of one of these moles, or walls, stands a small white 
light-house, indicating the way of approaching the 
city, which cannot be fully seen from the anchorage. 

When a ship arrives from a foreign port, no one 
can leave her before she is boarded by an officer 
from the guardship, a list of her passengers and 
crew obtained, and it is ascertained that there is no 
sickness on board. Having observed this regulation, 
we rowed up the canal to the " boom " or tree, where 
an officer of the customs looks into every boat that 
j)asses. This word "boom" came into use, as an 
officer informed me, when it was the custom to let a 
tree fall across the canal at night, in order to prevent 
any boat from landing or going out to the shipping. 

Here were crowds of Malay boatmen, engaged in 
gambling, by pitching coins. This seemed also the 
headquarters of poultry- venders, who were carrying 
round living fowls, ducks, and geese, whose feet had 
been tied together and fastened to a stick, so that 
they had to hang with their heads downward — the 
very ideal of cruelty. 



28 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

Before we could land, we were asked several 
times in Dutcli, Frencli, and English, to take a car- 
riage, for cabmen seem to kave tlie same persistent 
habits in every corner of tke eartk. Meanwkile tlie 
Malay drivers kept skonting out, " Cretur tuan ! cre- 
tnr tuan ! " So we took a " cretur," tkat is, a low, 
covered, four- wheeled carriage, drawn by two minia- 
ture joonies. Tlie driver sits up on a seat in front, 
in a neat l:)ajii or jacket of red or scarlet calico, and 
an enormous hemispherical hat, so gilded or bronzed 
as to dazzle your eyes when the sun shines. 

Though these ponies are small, they go at a 
quick canter, and we were rapidly whirled along 
between a row of shade-trees to the city gate, almost 
the only part of the old walls of the city that is now 
standing. The other parts were torn down by 
Marshal Daendals, to allow a freer circulation of air. 
Then we passed through another row of shade-trees, 
and over a bridge, to the of&ce of the American con- 
sul, a graduate of Harvard; and, as Cambridge had 
been my home for four years, we at once considered 
oui'selves as old friends. 

Before I left America, Senator Sumner, as chair- 
man of our Committee on Foreign delations, kindly 
gave me a note of warm commendation to the repre- 
sentatives of foreign powers; and Mr. J. G. S. van 
Breda, the secretary of the Society of Sciences in Hol- 
land, with whom I had been in correspondence while 
at the Museum of Comparative Zoology in Cambridge- 
gave me a kind note to Baron Sloet van de Beele, the 
governor-general of the Netherlands India. I imme- 
diately addressed a note to His Excellency, enclosing 



BATAVIA. 29 

these credentials, and explaining my plan to visit tlie 
Spice Islands for tlie purpose of collecting tlie sliells 
figured in RumpMus's " Rariteit Kamer," and express- 
ing tlie liope that lie would do wliat lie could to aid 
me in my liumhle attempts to develop more fully tlie 
natural Mstory of tliat interesting region. Tliese 
papers our consul kindly forwarded, adding a note en- 
dorsing tliem himself. 

As the governor-general administers both the 
civil and military departments of all the Dutch pos- 
sessions in the East, I could not expect an immediate 
reply. I therefore found a quiet place in a Dutch 
family, with two other boarders who spoke English 
and could assist me in learning their difficult lan- 
guage, and, bidding Captain Freeman and the other 
good officers of the Memnon farewell, took up my 
abode on shore. 

Bata^da at present is more properly the name of 
a district or "residency," than of a city. Formerly 
it was compact and enclosed by walls, but these were 
destroyed by Marshal Daendals, in 1811. The for- 
eigners then moved out and built their residences at 
various places in the vicinity, and these localities still 
retain their old Malay names. In this part of the 
city there are several fine hotels, a large o]3era-house, 
and a club-house. There are two scientific societies, 
which publish many valuable papers on the natural 
history, antiquities, geography, and geology, of all 
parts of the Netherlands India. These societies have 
valuable collections in Bata\T.a, and at Buitenzorg 
there is a large collection of minerals and geological 
specimens. The " King's Plain " is a very large open 



30 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

square, suiTOunded by rows of sliade-trees and tlie resi- 
dences of the wealthier mercliants. Near this is the 
" Waterloo Plain." On one of its sides is the larg- 
est building in Batavia, containing the offices of the 
various government bureaus, and the " throne-room," 
where the governor-general receives, in the name of 
the king, congratulations from the higher officials in 
that vicinity. 

The governor-general has a palace near by, but 
he resides most of the time at Buitenzorg, forty 
miles in the interior, where the land rises to about a 
thousand feet above the level of the sea, and the 
climate is much more temperate. 

A river, that rises in the mountains to the south, 
flows through the city and canal, and empties into 
the bay. Many bridges are thrown over this river 
and its branches, and beautiful shade-trees are planted 
along its banks. 

All the houses in these Eastern lands are low, rarely 
more than one story, for fear of earthquakes, which, 
however, occur in this part of the island at long 
intervals. The walls are of bricks, or fragments of 
coral rock covered with layers of plaster. The roof 
is of tiles, or atap, a kind of thatching of palm-leaves. 
A common plan is, a house part parallel to the street, 
and behind this, and at right angles to it an L or 
porch, the whole building being nearly in the form 
of a cross. 

In front is a broad veranda, where the inmates 
sit in the cool evening and receive the calls of their 
friends. This opens into a front parlor, which, with 
a few sleeping-rooms, occupies the whole house part. 




GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS, BATAVIA, 



p. 30. 



From a photofiraph. 



EASTERN MODE OF COOKING. 3X 

Tlie L, when there is one, usually lias only a low wall 
around it, and a roof resting on pillars. It is there- 
fore open on three sides to the air, unless shutters are 
placed between the pillars. This is usually the din- 
ing-room. Back of the house is a square, open area, 
enclosed on the remaining three sides hy a row of 
low, shed-roofed houses. Here are extra bedrooms, 
servants' quarters, cook-rooms, bath-rooms, and sta- 
bles. Within this area is usually a well, surrounded 
with shade-trees. The water from this well is poured 
'into a thick urn-shaped vessel of coral rock, and 
slowly filters through into an earthen pot beneath ; 
it is then cooled with ice from our own New-Eng- 
land ponds. Thus the cold of our temperate zone is 
made to allay the heat of the tropics. Several ship- 
loads of ice come from Boston to this port every 
year. At Surabaya and Singapore large quantities 
are manufactured, but it is as soft as ice in ice-cream. 
When one is accustomed to drinking ice-water, there 
is no danger of any ill effect ; but, on returning from 
the eastern part of the archipelago where they never 
have ice, to Surabaya, I suffered severely for a time, 
and, as I believe, from no other cause. In the fre- 
quent cases of fever in the East it is a luxury, and 
indeed a medicine, which can only be appreciated 
by one who has himself endured that indescribable 
burning. 

The cook-room, as already noticed, is some dis- 
tance from the dining-room, but this inconvenience is 
of little importance in those hot lands. The Malays 
are the only cooks, and I do not think that cooking 
as an art is carried to the highest perfection in that 



32 TKAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

part of tlie world, tliougli I must add, tliat I sooii 
became quite partial to many of their dishes, wMch 
are especially adapted for tliat climate. The kitchen 
is not provided with stoves or cooking-ranges, as in 
the Western world, hut on one side of the room there 
is a raised platform, and on this is a series of small 
arches, Avhich answer the same purpose. Fires are 
made in these arches with small pieces of wood, and 
the food is therefore more commonly fried or boiled, 
than baked. There is no chimney, and the smoke, 
after filling the room, finally escapes through a place 
in the roof which is slightly raised above the parts 
around it. 

As I am often questioned about the mode of 
living in the East, I may add that always once a 
day, and generally for dinner, rice and curry appear, 
and to these are added, for dinner, potatoes, fried and 
boiled ; steak, fried and broiled ; fried bananas 
(the choicest of all delicacies), various kinds of 
greens, and many sorts of pickles and sambal^ or 
vegetables mixed vdth red peppers. The next 
course is salad, and then are brought on bananas 
of three or four kinds, at all seasons ; and, at certain 
times, oranges, pumpelmuses, mangoes, mangostins, 
and rambutans ; and as this is but such a bill of 
fare as every man of moderate means expects to pro- 
vide, the people of the West can see that their 
friends in the East, as well as themselves, believe in 
the motto, " Carpe diem." A cigar, or pipe, and a 
small glass of gin, are generally regarded as indis- 
pensable things to perfect happiness by my good 
Dutch friends, and they all seemed to wonder that 



CHAEACTERISTICS OF THE MALAYS. 33 

I could be a traveller and never toucli either. It is 
generally supposed, in Europe and America, tliat 
housekeepers here, in the East, have little care or 
vexation, where every family employs so many ser- 
vants ; but, on the contrary, their troubles seem to 
multiply in direct ratio to the number of servants 
employed. ISTo servant there will do more than one 
thing. If engaged as a nurse, it is only to care for 
one child ; if as a groom, it is only to care for one 
horse, or, at most, one span of horses ; and as all 
these Malays are bent on doing every thing in the 
easiest way, it is almost as much trouble to watch 
them as to do their work. 

The total population of the Residency of Ba- 
tavia is 517,762. Of these, 5,576 are Europeans ; 
47,570 Chinese ; 463,591 native ; 684 Arabs ; and 
341 of other Eastern nations. 

All the natives are remarkably short in stature, 
the male sex averaging not more than five feet three 
inches in height, or four inches less than that of Euro- 
peans. The face is somewhat lozenge-shaj^ed, the cheek- 
bones high and prominent, the mouth wide, and the 
nose short — not flat as in the negroes, or prominent 
as in Europeans. They are generally of a mild dis- 
position, except the wild tribes in the mountainous 
parts of Sumatra, Borneo, Celebes, Timor, Ceram, and 
a few other large islands. The coast jDeople are 
invariably hospitable and trustworthy. They are 
usually quiet, and extremely indolent. They all 
have an insatiable passion for gambling, which no 
restrictive or prohibitory laws can eradicate. 

They are nominally Mohammedans, but have 



34 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

none of tlie fanaticism of tliat sect in Arabia. Tliey 
still retain many of their previous Hindu notions, 
and tLeir belief may be properly defined as a mix- 
ture of Hinduism and Mohammedanism. A few are 
" Christians," that is, they attend the service of the 
Dutch Church, and do not shave their heads or file 
their teeth. They are cleanly in their habits, and 
scores of all ages may be seen in the rivers and 
canals of every city and village, especially in the 
morning and evening. The sarong^ their universal 
dress, is peculiarly fitted for this habit. When they 
have finished their bath, a dry one is drawn on ovei' 
the head, and the wet one is slipped off beneath 
without exposing the person in the least. The 
females wear the sarong long, and generally twist 
it tightly round the body, just under the arms. Oc- 
casionally it is made mth sleeves, like a loose gown. 
A close-fitting jacket or haju is worn with it. 

The men have but a few straggling hairs for 
beards, and these they generally pull out with a 
pair of iron tweezers. The hair of the head in both 
sexes is lank, coarse, and worn long. Each sex, 
therefore, resembles the other so closely that nearly 
every foreigner will, at first, find himself puzzled in 
many cases to know whether he is looking at a man 
or a woman. This want of differentiation in the 
sexes possibly indicates their low rank in the human 
family, if the law may be applied here that obtains 
among most other animals. 

Every day I went out to collect the peculiar 
birds and beautiful butterfiies of that region, my 
favorite place for this pleasure being in an old 



THE BUFFALO. 35 

Cliinese cemetery just outside the city, where, as the 
land was level, the earth had been thrown up into 
mounds to keep the bones of their inmates from 
" the wet unfortunate places," just as in China, when 
far from any mountain or hill. A Malay servant 
followed, carrying my ammunition and collecting- 
boxes. At first I supposed he would have many 
superstitious objections to wandering to and fro 
with me over the relics of the Celestials, but, to my 
surprise, I found his people cultivating the spaces 
between the graves, as if they, at least, did not con- 
sider it sacred soil ; yet, several times, when we 
came to the graves of his own ancestors, he was care- 
ful to approach with every manifestation of awe and 
respect. 

A small piece of land, a bamboo hut, and a buf- 
falo, comprise all the worldly possessions of most 
coolies, and yet with these they always seem most 
enviably contented. 

They generally use but a single buffalo in their 
ploughs and carts. A string passing through his 
nostrils is tied to his horns, and to this is attached 
another for a rein, by which he is guided or urged 
to hasten on his slow motions. This useful animal 
is distributed over all the large islands of the archi- 
pelago, including the Philippines, over India and 
Ceylon ; and during the middle ages was intro- 
duced into Egypt, Greece, and Italy. It thrives 
well only in warm climates. From its peculiar 
habit of wallowing in j)ools and mires, and bury- 
ing itself until only its nose and eyes can be 
seen, it has been named the " water - ox." This 



36 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

appears to Ibe its mode of resting, as well as escap- 
ing the scorcMng rays of the sun, and the swarms 
of annoying flies ; and in the higher lands the natives 
make artificial ponds by the roadside, where these 
animals may sto]3 when on a jonrney. They are 
generally of a dark slate-color, and occasionally 
of a light flesh-color, but rarely or never white. 
They are so sparsely covered with hair as to 
be nearly naked. They are larger than our oxen, 
but less capable of continued labor. They are 
usually so docile that even the Malay children 
can drive them, but they dislike the appearance 
of a European, and" have a 23eculiar mode of mani- 
festing this aversion by breathing heavily through 
the nose. At such times they become restive and 
unmanageable, and their owners have frequently re- 
quested me to walk away, for fear I should be 
attacked. When the females are suckling their 
young, they are specially dangerous. A large male 
has been found to be more than a match for a full- 
grown royal tiger. 

On most of the islands where the tame buffalo is 
seen, wild ones are also found among the mountains ; 
but naturalists generally suppose the original home 
of the species was on the continent, and that the wild 
ones are merely the descendants of those that have 
escaped to the forests. The Spaniards found them 
on the Philippines when tliey first visited that archi- 
pelago. 

The plough generally used has both sides alike, 
and a single handle, which the coolie holds in his 
right hand while he guides the buffalo with the left. 




RAHDEN SALEH. 



From a photograph. 




RAHDEN SALEH'S PALACE. 



p. 36. 



From a photograph. 



A SPEAKING QUADRUPED. 37 

The lower part of tlie share is of iron, the other 
parts of wood. It only scratches the ground to the 
depth of six or eight inches — a strange contrast to 
our deep subsoil ploughing. In these shallow fur- 
rows are dropped kernels of our own Indian maize 
and seeds of the sugar-cane. Sometimes the fields 
are planted with cocoa-nut palms about twenty yards 
apart, more for their shade, it appears, 'than for their 
fruit, which is now hanging in great green and yellow 
clusters, and will be ripe in a month. Beneath these 
trees are blighted nuts, and in many places large 
heaps of them are seen, gathered by the natives for 
the sake of the husk, from which they make a coarse 
rope. 

Among these trees I was surprised to hear the 
noise, or more properly words, " Tokay ! tokay ! " 
and my servant at once explained that that was the 
way a kind of lizard " talked " in his land. So 
snugly do these animals hide away among the green 
leaves that it was several days before I could satisfy 
myself that I had secured a specimen of this speak- 
ing quadruped. 

During my hunting I enjoyed some charming 
views of the high, dark-blue mountains to the south. 
One excursion is worthy of especial mention. It was 
to the palace of Kahden Saleh, a native prince. This 
palace consisted of a central part and two wings, 
with broad verandas on all sides. On entering the 
main building we found ourselves in a spacious hall, 
mth a gallery above. In the centre of the fioor rose 
a sort of table, and around the sides of the room were 
chairs of an antique pattern. Side-doors opened out 



38 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

of tliis hall into smaller rooms, eacli of wliicli was fur- 
nished witli a straw carpet, and in tlie centre a small, 
square Brussels carj)et, on wHcli was a table orna-. 
mented witli carved- work, and surrounded witL. a row 
of riclily-cusliioned chairs. Along the sides were sim- 
ilar chairs and small, gilded tables. On the walls 
hung large steel engravings, among which I noticed 
two frequently seen in our own land : " The Moham- 
medan's Paradise," and one of two female figures 
personifying the past and the future. In front of the 
palace the grounds were tastefully laid out as small 
lawns and flower-plats, bordered with a shrub filled 
with red leaves. An accurate idea of the harmonious 
proportions of this beautiful palace is given in the 
accompanying cut. It is the richest residence owned 
by any native prince in the whole East Indian Ar- 
chipelago. 

The Rahden at the time was in the adjoining 
grounds, which he is now forming into large zoo- 
logical gardens for the government at Batavia. 
When a youth, he was sent to Holland, and educated 
at the expense of the Dutch Government. While 
there, he acquired a good command of the German 
and French languages, was received as a distinguished 
guest at all the courts, and associated with the lead- 
ing literati. In this manner he became acquainted 
with Eusrene Sue, who was then at work on his 
" Wandering Jew," and — as is generally believed — 
at once chose the Rahden as a model for his " East- • 
ern prince," one of the most prominent characters in 
that book. But it is chiefly as a landscape-painter 
that the Bahden is most famous. A few years ago 



THE BATAVIA FEVER. 39 

tliere was a great flood liere at Batavia'wMcli proved 
a fit subject for Ms. pencil ; and tlie painting was so 
gl-eatly admired, that lie presented it to tlie King of 
Holland. When I was introduced to him, he at once, 
with all a courtier's art, inquired whether I was from 
the North or the South ; and on hearing that I Was 
not only from the North, but had served for a time 
in the Union army, he insisted on shaking hands 
again, remarking that he trusted that it would not be 
long before all the slaves in our land would be free. 

I had not been out many times collecting before I 
found myself seized one night with a severe pain in 
the back of the neck and small of the back — Si sure 
sign of an approaching fever. The next day found me 
worse, then I became somewhat better, and then worse 
again. The sensation was as if some one were repeat- 
edly thrusting a handful of red-hot knitting-needles 
into the top of my head, which, as they passed in, di- 
verged till they touched the base of the brain. Then 
came chills, and then again those indescribable dart- 
ing pains. It seemed as if I could not long retain 
the command of my mind under such severe torture. 
At last, after seven days of this suffering, I decided 
to go to the military hospital, which is open to citi- 
zens of all nations on their paying the same price 
per day as in the best hotels. The hospital consisted 
of a series of long, low, one-story buildings placed at 
right angles to each other, and on both sides facing 
open squares and wide walks or gardens, which were 
all bordered with large trees and contained some 
fine flowers. In each of the buildino^s were two 
rows of rooms or chambers of convenient size, which 



40 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

opened out on to a wide piazza, where the sick could 
enjoy all the breezes and yet Ibe sheltered from the 
sun. Every morning the chief doctor came round to 
each room with assistants and servants, who carefully 
noted his directions and ^prescriptions. He was a 
German, and apj)eared very kindly in his manner; 
but when the time arrived to take medicine, I found 
he had not only assigned for me huge doses of that 
most bitter of all bitter things — quinine — ^but also 
copious draughts of some fluid villanously sour. 
The ultimate result of these alloj)athic doses was, 
however, decidedly beneficial ; and after keeping per- 
fectly quiet for a week, I was well enough to return 
to my boarding-house, but yet was so weak for some 
time that I could scarcely walk. 

Our consul, who had been kindly visiting me all 
the while, now came with a letter from His Excellency 
the governor-general that was amply sufiicient to make 
me wholly forget my unfavorable initiation into tropi- 
cal life. It was addressed to the " Heads of the Provin- 
cial Governments in and out of Java," and read thus : 
" I have the honor to ask Your Excellency to render to 
the bearer, Mr. Albert S. Bickmore, who may come 
into the district under your command in the interest 
of science, all the assistance in your power, without 
causing a charge to the public funds or a burden to 
the native people." 

Besides honoring me with this kind letter, His 
Excellency generously wrote the consul that he would 
be happy to offer me "post-horses j^r^^ overall Java," 
if I should like to travel in the interior. But it was 
with the hope of reaching the Spice Islands that I 



PREPARING TO GO FARTHER EAST. 41 

liad come to the East, and, after tlianking tlie gov- 
ernor-general for sucli great consideration and kind- 
ness, I began making preparations for a voyage 
tkrougli the eastern part of tlie archipelago. I had 
brought with me a good supply of large copper cans 
with screw covers. These were filled with arrack, a 
kind of rum made of molasses and rice. Dip-nets, 
hooks, lines, and all such other paraphernalia, I had 
fully provided myself with before I left America. Yet 
one paper, besides a ticket, was needed before I could 
go on board the mail-boat, and that was a " permis- 
sion to travel in the l^etherlands India." This paper 
ought to have been renewed, according to law, once 
every month ; but the governor-general's letter was 
such an ample passport, that I never troubled myself 
about the matter again during the year I was jour- 
neying in the Dutch possessions. 



CHAPTER II. 



SAMAEANG AND SUEABATA. 



Ok" the 7t]i of June, as tlie twiliglit was briglit- 
ening in the eastern sky, I left my new Batavia 
liome, and was liurriedly driven to tlie " boom." A 
small steamer was waiting to take passengers off to 
tke mail-boat tkat goes to Celebes, Timor, and Am- 
boina, tke capital of tlie Spice Islands. 

My baggage all on board, I bad time to rest, and 
realize tbat once more I was a wanderer ; bnt lone- 
some tbougbts were qnickly banished when I began 
to observe wlio were to be my companions, there on 
the eastern side of the world, so far from the centre 
of civilization and fashion ; and just then a real ex- 
quisite stepped on board. He was tall, but appeared 
much taller from wearing a high fur hat, the most 
uncomfortable covering for the head imaginable in 
that hot climate. Then his neckcloth ! It was spot- 
lessly white, and evidently tied with the greatest care ; 
but what especially attracted my attention were his 
long, thin hands, carefully protected by white kid 
gloves. However, we had not been a long time on 
the steamer, where every place was covered with a 
thick layer of coal-dust, before Mr. Exquisite changed 
his elegant apparel for a matter-of-fact suit, and made 



THE GIBEALTAR OP JAVA. 4.3 

his second appearance as a litterateur^ witli a copy 
of tlie Gornliill Magacdne. As lie evidently did not 
intend to read, I borrowed it, and found it was al- 
ready tliree years old, and tlie leaves still uncut. It 
contained a graphic description of the grounds about 
Isaac Walton's retired home — probably the most 
like the garden of Eden of any place seen on our 
earth since man's fall. 

The other passengers were mostly officials and 
merchants going to Samarang, Surabaya, or Macas- 
sar, and I found that I was the only one travelling 
to Amboina. The general commanding the Dutch 
army in the East was on board. He was a very po- 
lite, unassuming gentleman, and manifested much 
interest in a Sharpe's breech-loader I had brought 
from America, and regarded it the most effective 
army rifle of any he had seen up to that time. He 
was going to the headquarters of the army, which is 
a strongly-fortified place back of Samarang. It was 
described to me as located on a mountain or high 
plateau with steej:) sides — a perfect Gibraltar, which 
they boasted a small army could maintain for an in- 
definite length of time against any force that might 
be brought against it. About five months later, 
however, it was nearly destroyed by a violent earth- 
quake, but has since been completely rebuilt. 

One genial acquaintance I soon found in a young 
man who had just come from Sumatra. He had 
travelled far among the high mountains and deep 
gorges in the interior of that almost unexplored 
island, and his vivid descriptions gave me an inde- 
scribable longing to behold such magnifi^cent scenery 



44 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDLiN ARCHIPELAGO. 

— a pleasiu'e I did not fancy at tliat time it would Ibe 
my good fortune to enjoy "before I left tlie arcHpel- 
ago. 

All day the sky was very hazy, but we obtained 
several grand views of high volcanoes, especially two 
steep cones that can be seen in the west from the 
road at Batavia, A light, but steady breeze came 
from the east, for it was as yet only the early part 
of the eastern monsoon. When the sun sank in the 
west, the full moon rose in the east, and spread out 
a broad band of silver over the sea. The air was 
so soft and balmy, and the whole sky and sea so en- 
chanting, that to recall it this day seems like fancy- 
ing anew a part of some fascinating dream. 

This word monsoon is only a corruption of the 
Arabic word 'muslm, " season," which the Portu- 
guese learned from the Arabians and their de- 
o 

scendants, who were then navigating these seas. 
It first occurs in the writings of De Barros, where 
he speaks of a famine that occurred at Malacca, be- 
cause the usual quantity of rice had not been brought 
fr'om Java ; and " the mu§ao " being adverse, it was 
not possible to obtain a sufficient supply. The Ma- 
lays have a peculiar manner of always speaking of 
any region to the west as being " above the wind," 
and any region to the east as being " below the wind." 
Ju7ie 8th. — Went on deck early this morning to 
look at the mountains which we might be passing ; 
and, while I was absorbed in viewing a fine head- 
land, the cajDtain asked me if I had seen that gigan- 
tic peak, pointing upward, as he spoke, to a moun- 
tain-top, rising out of such high clouds that I liad not 



THE NORTH COAST OF JAVA. 45 

noticed it. It was Mount Slamat, wliicli attains an 
elevation of eleven thousand three hundred and thirty 
English feet above the sea — the highest peak but 
one among the many lofty mountains on Java, and, 
like most of them, an active volcano. The upper 
limit of vegetation on it is three thousand feet below 
its crest. The northern coast of Java is so low here 
that this mountain, instead of appearing to rise up, 
as it does, from the interior of the island, seemed 
close by the shore — an effect which occurs in viewing 
nearly all these lofty peaks while the observer is 
sailing on the Java Sea. M. Zollinger, a Swiss, says 
that at sunrise the tops of these loftiest peaks are 
brightened with the same rose-red glow that is seen 
on Monte Rosa and Mont Blanc when the sun is 
setting, and once or twice I thought I observed the 
same charming phenomenon. The lowlands and the 
lower declivities of all the mountains seen to-day are 
under the highest state of cultivation. Indeed, this 
part of Java may be correctly described as one mag- 
nificent garden, divided into small lots by lines of 
thick evergreens, and tall, feathery palm-trees. This 
afternoon we steamed into the o|)en roadstead of Sam- 
arang during a heavy rain-squall ; for though the 
" western monsoon," or " rainy season," is past, yet 
nearly every afternoon we have a heavy shower, and 
every one is speaking of the great damage it is likely 
to do to the rice and sugar crops which are just now 
ri]3ening. The heavy rain-squall cleared away the 
thick haze that filled the sky, and the next morning 
I went on shore to see the city. A few miles direct- 
ly back of it rises the sharp peak of Ungarung to a 



46 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

lieigM of some five thousand feet, its flanks highly 
cultivated in fields, and its upper region devoted to 
coffee- trees. Somewhat west of this, near the shore, 
I noticed a small naked cone, apparently of brown, 
volcanic ashes, and of so recent an origin that the 
vigorous vegetation of these tropical lands had not 
had time to spread over its surface. Back of Unga- 
rung rise three lofty peaks in a line northwest and 
southeast. The northernmost and nearest is Mount 
Prau ; the central. Mount Sumbing ; and the southern 
one. Mount Sindoro. 

Mount Prau receives its name from its shape, 
which has been fancied to be like that of a " prau," 
or native boat, turned upside down. It was the 
supposed residence of the gods and demigods of 
the Javanese in ancient times, and now it abounds 
in the ruins of many temples; some partially cov- 
ered with lava, showing that earthquakes and 
eruptions have done their share in causing this 
destruction. Many images of these ancient gods 
in metal have been found on this mountain. Ru- 
ins of enormous temples of those olden times are 
yet to be seen at Boro Bodo, in the province of 
Kedu, and at Brambanan, in the province of Mata- 
rem. At Boro Bodo a hill-to|) has been changed 
into a low pyramid, one hundred feet high, and hav- 
ing a base of six hundred and twenty feet on a side. 
Its sides are formed into five terraces, and the perpen- 
dicular faces of these terraces contain many niches, 
in each of which was once an image of Buddha. On 
the level area at the summit of the pyramid is a 
large dome-shaped building, surrounded by seventy- 



THE THOUSAND TEMPLES. 47 

two smaller ones of tlie same general form. Accord- 
ing to tlie clironology of tlie Javanese, it was built 
in A. D. 1344. 

At Brambanan are seen extensive ruins of several 
groups of temples, built of buge blocks of trachyte, 
carefully bewn and put together without any kind 
of cement. Tbe most wonderful of tliose groups is 
tliat of " Tbe Thousand Temples." They actually 
number two hundred and ninety-six, and are situ- 
ated on a low, rectangular terrace, measuring five 
hundred and forty by five hundred and ten feet, in 
five rows, one within another; a large central build- 
ing, on a second terrace, overlooks the whole. This 
was elaborately ornamented, and, before it began to 
decay, probably formed, with those around it, one of 
the most imposing temples ever reared in all the 
East. According to the traditions of the Javanese, 
these buildings were erected between a. d. 1266 and 
1296. 

These structures were doubtless planned and 
superintended by natives of India. They were dedi- 
cated to Hindu worship, and here the Brahmins and 
Buddhists appear to have forgotten their bitter hos- 
tility, and in some cases to have even worshipped in 
the same temple. The Indian origin of these works 
is further proved by images of the zebu, or humped 
ox, which have been found here and elsewhere in 
Java, but it does not now exist, and probably never 
did, in any part of the archipelago. 

As two Malays rowed me rapidly along in a 
narrow, canoe-like boat, I watched the clouds gather 
and embrace the high head of Mount Prau. Only 



48 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

thin and fibrous cumuli covered tlie other lofty peaks, 
but a thick cloud wrapped itself around the crest of 
this mountain and many small ones gathered on its 
dark sides, which occasionally could be seen through 
the partings in its white fleecy shroud. The form 
of the whole was just that of the mountain, except at 
its top, where for a time the clouds rose like a gigan- 
tic, circular castle, the square openings in their dense 
mass exactly resembling the windows in such thick 
walls. 

Eastward of Ungarung are seen the lofty summits 
of Merbabu and Merapi, and east from the anchorage 
rises Mount Japara, forming, with the low lands at 
its feet, almost an island, on Java's north coast. 

Like Batavia, Samarang is situated on both sides 
of a small river, in a low morass. The river was 
much swollen by late rains, and in the short time I 
passed along it, I saw dead horses, cats, dogs, and 
monkeys borne on its muddy waters out to the bay, 
there perhaps to sink and be covered with layers of 
mud, and, if after long ages those strata should be 
elevated above the level of the sea and fall under 
a geologist's eye, to become the subject of some prolix 
disquisition. This is, in fact, exactly the way that most 
of the land animals in the marine deposits of former 
times have come down to us — an extremely frag- 
mentary history at best, yet sufficient to give us some 
idea of the strange denizens of the earth when few or 
none of the highest mountains had yet been formed. 

Through this low morass they are now digging a 
canal out to the roads, so that the city may be ap- 
proached from the anchorage by the canal and the 



SAMARANG. 49 

river. This canal is firmly walled in, as at Batavia. 
From tlie landing-place to the city proper the road 
was a stream of mud, and the houses are small and 
occupied only by Malays and the poorer classes of 
Chinese. In such streets two coolies are occasionally 
seen carrying one of the native belles in a tandii. 
The city itself is more compact than Batavia, and the 
shops are remarkably fine. It was pleasant to look 
again on some of the same engravings exposed for 
sale in our own shops. The finest building in the 
city, and the best of the kind that I have seen in the 
East, is a laroje one containino; the custom and other 
bureaus. It is two stories high, and occupies three 
sides of a rectangle. I was told that they Avere 
fifteen years in building it, though in our country a 
private firm would have put it up in half as many 
months. There are several very fine hotels, and I 
saw one most richly famished. Near the river stands 
a high watch-tower, where a constant lookout is kept 
for all ships approaching the road. From its top a 
wide view is obtained over the anchorage, the low- 
lands, and the city. Toward the interior rich fields 
are seen stretching away to the province of Kedu, 
" the garden of Java." A railroad has been begun 
here, which will extend to Surakarta and Jokyo- 
karta, on the east side of Mount Merapi, and will 
open this rich region more fully to the world."^" 

The church of the city, which is chiefly sustained 

* The population of tlie Eesidency of Samarang, -whicli includes the 
city, is 1,020,275. Of these 5,162 are Europeans, 1,001,252 are natives, 
11,441 are Chinese, 438 are Arabs, and 1,982 are from other Eastern 
nations. In these figures the military are not included. 
4 



50 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

here as elsewhere by the Dutcli GovermiierLt, is a 
large cathedral-like building, finished in the interior 
in an octagonal form. One side is occupied by the 
pulpit, another by the organ, and the others are for 
the congregation. At the time I entered, the pastor 
was lecturing in a conversational but earnest manner 
to some twenty Malays and Chinese, gathered around 
hiin. At the close of his exhortation he shook hands 
with each in the most cordial manner. 

From this church I went to the Mohammedan 
mosque, a square pagoda-like structure, with three 
roofs, one above the other, and each being a little 
smaller than the one beneath it. It was Friday, the 
Mohammedan Sabbath, and large numbers were 
coming to pay their devotions to the false proj)het, 
for his is the prevailing religion in this land. By 
the gate in the wall enclosing the mosque were a well 
and a huge stone tank, where all the faithful per- 
formed the most scrupulous ablutions before proceed- 
ing to repeat the required parts of the Koran. It 
was pleasant to see that at least they believed and 
practised the maxim that " cleanliness is next to 
godliness." From the gate I walked up an inclined 
terrace to the large doorway, and at once saw, from 
the troubled expression on the faces of those who 
were kneeling on their straw mats outside the build- 
ing, that I had committed some impropriety; and 
one answered my look of inquiry by pointing to my 
feet. I had forgotten that I was treading on " holy 
ground," and had therefore neglected " to |)nt off my 
shoes." Opposite the entrance is usually a niche, 
and on one side of this a kind of throne, but what 



MOHAMMEDANISM IN THE AECHIPELAGO. 51 

was tlie origin or signification of either I never could 
learn, and believe tlie common people are as ignorant 
as myself in tMs respect. Their whole ceremony is 
to kneel, facing this niche, and repeat in a low, mum- 
bling, nasal tone some parts of the writings of their 
prophet. Their priests are always Arabs, or their 
mestizo descendants, the same class of people as 
those who introduced this faith. Any one who has 
been to Mecca is regarded as next to a saint, and 
many go to Singapore or Penang, where they remain 
a year or two, and then return and declare they have 
seen the holy city. The first conversions to Moham- 
medanism in any -psnt of the archipelago occurred at 
Achin, the western end of Sumatra, in 1204. It was 
not taught by j)ure Arabs, but by those descendants 
of Arabs and Persians who came from the Persian 
Gulf to Achin to trade. Thence it spread slowly 
eastward to Java, Celebes, and the Moluccas, and 
northward to the Philippines, where it was just gain- 
ing a foothold when the Spanish arrived. Under their 
rule it was soon eradicated, and supplanted by Catho- 
lic Christianity. Bali is almost the only island where 
the people can read and Avrite their native tongue, 
and have not partially adopted this religion. On 
the continent it spread so rapidly that, within one 
hundred years after the Hegira, it was established 
from Persia to Spain ; but, as its promulgators were 
not a maritime people, it did not reach Achin until 
five hundred and seventy-two years after the Hegira, 
and then its followers had so little of the fanaticism 
and energy of the Arabs, that it was more than three 
hundred years in reaching Celebes, and fully estab- 



52 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

lisliing itself on tliat island. The Malay name for 
this religion is always " Islam." 

On our way back to tlie mail-boat we passed 
quite a fleet of fisHng-boats, at tlie mouth of tlie 
river. They are generally made alike at both ends, 
and look like huge canoes. Some have high lantern- 
shaped houses perched on the stern, as if to make 
them more unsightly. Here they all have decks, but 
those at Batavia are merely open boats. 

The next day we continued on our course to the 
eastward, around the ]3romontory formed by Mount 
Japara, whose sides are so completely scored by deej) 
ravines that little or none of the original surface of 
the mountain can be seen. Dr. Junghuhn, who has 
spent many years studying in detail the mountains of 
Java, finds that above a height of ten thousand feet 
but very few ravines exist. This height is the common 
cloud-level, and the rains that they pour out, of course, 
only affect the moimtain-sides below that elevation, 
hence the flanks of a mountain are sometimes deeply 
scored while its top remains entire. The substances 
of which these great cones are chiefly comj)osed are 
mostly volcanic ashes, sand, and small fragments of 
basalt or lava, just the kind of rnaterials that swift 
torrents would rapidly carry away. 

The volcanoes of Java are mostly in two lines : one, 
commencing near Cape St. Nicholas, its northwestern 
extremity, passes diagonally across the island to its 
southeastern headland on the Strait of Bali. The 
other is parallel to this, and extends from the middle 
of the Strait of Sunda to the south coast in the longi- 
tude of Cheribon. They stand along two immense 



THE VALLEY OF DEATH. 53 

fissures in tlie eartli's crust, but tlie elevating power 
appears only to liave found vent at certain separate 
points along tliese fissures. At tliese points sub-aerial 
eruptions of volcanic ashes, sand, and scorise liave oc- 
curred, and occasionally streams of basaltic and tra- 
cliytic lava have poured out, until no less tlian thirty- 
eight cones, some of immense size, have been formed 
on this island. Their peculiar character is, that they 
are distinct and separate mountains, and not peaks 
in a continuous chain. 

The second characteristic of these mountains is 
the great quantity of sulphur they produce. White 
clouds of sulphurous acid gas continually v^reath the 
crests of these high peaks, and betoken the unceasing 
activity v^ithin their gigantic masses. This gas is the 
one that is formed when a friction-match is lighted, 
and is, of course, extremely destructive to all animal 
and vegetable life. 

At various localities in the vicinity of active vol- 
canoes and in old craters this gas still escapes, and the 
famous " Guevo Upas " or Valley of Poison, on the 
flanks of the volcano Papandayang, is one of these 
areas of noxious vapors. It is situated at the head 
of a valley on the outer declivity of the mountain, five 
hundred or seven hundred feet below the rim of the old 
crater which contains the " Telaga Bodas " or White 
Lake. It is a small, bare place, of a pale gray or yellow- 
ish color, containing many crevices and openings from 
which carbonic acid gas pours out from time to time. 
Here both Mr. Keinwardt and Dr. Junghuhn saw a 
great number of dead animals of various kinds, as dogs, 
cats, tigers, rhinoceroses, squirrels, and other rodents. 



54: TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

many birds, and even snakes, wlio liad lost their lives 
in this fatal place. Besides carbonic acid gas, sulpliur- 
ous acid gas also escapes. TMs was tlie only gas pres- 
ent at the time of Dr. Junghnhn's visit, and is j)rol)- 
ably the one that causes such certain destruction to 
all the animals that wander into this valley of death. 
The soft parts of these animals, as the shin, the mus- 
cles, and the hair or feathers, were found by both ob- 
servers quite entire, while the bones had crumbled 
and mostly disappeared. The reason that so many 
dead animals are found on this spot, while none exist 
in the surrounding forests, is because beasts of prey 
not only cannot consume them, but even they lose 
their lives in the midst of these poisonous gases. 

It was in such a place that the deadly upas was 
fabled to be found. The first account of this wonder- 
ful tree was given by Mr. IST. P. Foersch, a surgeon 
in the service of the Dutch East India Company. 
His original article was published in the fourth vol- 
ume of Pennant's " Outlines of the Globe," and re- 
j)eated in the London Magazine for September, 1785. 
He states that he saw it himself, and describes it as 
" the sole individual of its species, standing alone, in 
a scene of solitary horror, on the middle of a naked, 
blasted plain, surrounded by a circle of mountains, 
the whole area of which is covered with the skele- 
tons of birds, beasts, and men. Not a vestige of vege- 
table life is to be seen within the contaminated atmos- 
j)here, and even the fishes die in the water ! " This, 
like most fables, has some foundation in fact ; and a 
large forest-tree exists in Java, the Antiaris toxica/ria 
of botanists, that has a poisonous sap. When its 



THE UPAS. 55 

bark is cut, a sap floAvs out mucli resembling milk, 
but thicker and more viscid. A native prepared 
some poison from tliis kind of sap for Dr. Horsfield. 
He mingled witli it about half a drackm of tlie 
sap of the following vegetables — arum, kempferia 
galanga, anomum, a kind of zerumbed, common onion 
or garlic, and a draclim and a lialf of black pepper. 
This poison proved mortal to a dog in one kour ; a 
mouse in ten minutes ; a monkey in seven ; a cat in 
fifteen; and a large buffalo died in two kours and ten 
minutes from tke effects of it. A similar poison is 
prepared from tke sap of tke clietek^ a climbing vine. 
Tke deadly anckar is tkus pictured in Darwin's 
" Botanic Garden : " 

" Fierce in dread silence, on the blasted heath, 
Fell Upas sits, the hydra-tree of death ! 
So, from one root, the envenomed soil below, 
A thousand vegetative serpents grow ! 
In shinmg rays the steady monster spreads 
O'er ten square leagues his far-diverging head. 
Or in one trunk entwists his tangled form. 
Looks o'er the clouds, and hisses at the storm ; 
Steeped in fell poison, as his sharp teeth part, 
A thousand tongues in quick vibration dart, 
Snatch the proud eagle towering o'er the heath, 
Or pounce the lion as he stalks beneath ; 
Or strew, as martial hosts contend in vain, 
With human skeletons the whitened plain." 

All tke nortk coast of Java is very low, often 
forming a morass, except kere and tkere wkere some 
mountain sends out a spur to form a low keadland. 
As we neared Madura tkis low land spread out be- 
neatk tke skallow sea and we were obliged to keep 



56 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

eight or ten miles from land. On both sides of tlie 
Madura Strait tlie land is also low, and on the left 
hand we passed many villages of native fishermen 
who tend hamhoo weirs that extend out a long way 
from the shore. 

Here, for the first time, I saw "boats with outrig- 
gers. Each had one such float on the leeward side, 
while, on a hind of rack on the windward side, was 
placed a canoe and every thing on board that Avas 
movable. Each boat carries two triangular sails, 
made of narrow, white cloths, with occasionally a red 
or black one in the middle or on the margins by way 
of ornament. 

Just before entering the road of Surabaya we 
passed Gresik, a small village of Chinese and other 
foreigners, situated immediately on the beach. It is 
an old site and famous in the early history of Java, 
but the houses seemed mostly new, and their red- 
tiled roofs contrasted |)rettily with their white ridge- 
poles and gable-ends. It was here, according to the 
Javanese historians, that the Mohammedan religion 
was first established on their soil. 

At Surabaya there appears to be much more busi- 
ness than at Batavia, and we found a larger number 
of vessels at anchor in the roads. At Batavia, the 
anchorage is somewhat sheltered by the islands at the 
mouth of the bay. At Samarang, the anchorage is 
quite exposed during the Avestern monsoon, and the 
swell and surf are sometimes so great that boats can- 
not land, but at Surabaya the shipping is perfectly 
sheltered from all gales. There are, however, strong 
tidal currents, on account of the size of the bay, at 



MODE OF NAVIGATING MUD-FLATS. 57 

the ancliorage, and tlie narrow straits tliat connect it 
witli the sea. These straits, though narrow, are not 
dangerous, and this may be said to be the only good 
harbor that is frequented on the island of Java. On 
the south coast, at Chilachap, there is a safe and well- 
sheltered anchorage, but it has very little trade. 

At evening, when the water is ebbing, flocks of 
white herons range themselves in lines along its re- 
treating edge, and calmly await the approach of some 
unlucky fish. Then the fishing-boats come up from the 
east, spreading out their white sails, and forming a 
counterpart to the lines of white herons along the 
shore. 

The natives, unable to walk to their huts on the 
banks, have a most novel and rapid mode of navigating 
these mud-flats. A board about two feet wide, five or 
six feet long, and curved up at one end like the run- 
ner of a sled, is placed on the soft mud, and the fish- 
erman rests the left knee on it while he kicks with 
the right foot, in just the way that boys push them- 
selves on their sleds over ice or snow. In this way 
they go as fast as a man would walk on solid ground. 

Like Batavia and Samarang, Surabaya* is sit- 
uated on both sides of a small river, on low land, 
but not in a morass, like the old city of Batavia, 
and yet much nearer the shipping. This river has 
been changed into a canal by walling in its banks. 
Near its entrance it is lined on one side with nice 



* The population of the Eesidency of Surabaya, which also includes 
that of the city of the same name, is 1,278,600. Of these, 5,124 are Eu- 
ropeans, 1,261,271 are natives, 7,603 are Chinese, 1,477 are Arabs, and 
3,125 are from other Eastern nations. 



58 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

dwelling-liouses, and bordered witli a row of fine 
sliade-trees. Back of tliese dwellings is tlie govern- 
ment dockyard. It is very carefully built, and con- 
tains a dry-dock, a ]3lace to take up skips like our 
railways, ample work-skops, and large skeds for stor- 
ing away lumber. Tkey were tken building six 
small steamers and two or tkree boats, besides a great 
dry-dock for tke largest skijDS. Here was tke Me- 
dusa, tke skip tkat led tke allied Dutck, Englisk, 
Frenck, and American fleet in tke attack on Simono- 
saki, at tke entrance of tke Inland Sea in Japan. 
Tke many scars in ker sides skowed tke dangerous 
part ske kad taken in tke attack, and I kave fre- 
quently keard tke Dutck officers speak witk a just 
pride of tke bravery and skill of ker officers in tkat 
engagement. Formerly, skips could only be re- 
paired by being " tkrown down " at Onrust, an isl- 
and six miles west of tke road at Bata^da ; but now 
nearly all suck work is done in tkis yard. It was 
most enlivening to kear tke rapid ringing of kam- 
mers on anvils — a sound one can rarely enjoy in tkose 
dull Eastern cities. 

Tke government mackine-skop is anotker proof 
of tke determination of tke Dutck to make for tkem- 
selves wkatever tkey need, and to be independent of 
foreign markets. Here tkey make many castings, 
but tkeir ckief business is manufacturing steam-boil- 
ers for tke navy. Nine kundred Javanese were tken 
in tkis establiskment, all laboring voluntarily, and 
kaving fall liberty to leave wkenever tkey ckose. 
Most of tke overseers even are natives, and but few 
Europeans are employed in tke Avkole works. Tkey 



THE JAVANESE AS MECHANICS. 59 

all perform their allotted tasks quietly and steadily, 
without loud talking or any unnecessary noise. Some 
of tkem are so skilful that they receive nearly two 
guilders per day. Tkese facts skow^ tke capabili- 
ties of tke Javanese, and indicate tkat tkere may 
yet be a brigkt future for tkis people. Here tke 
standard weigkts and measures for tke government 
are manufactured; and as an instance of tke lon- 
gevity of tkis people, wken tkey are correct in tkeir 
kabits, tke director told me tkat one native kad 
worked for fifty-seven years in tkat department, and 
for some time kad been assisted by botk Ms sons and 
grandsons. He kad just retired, and tke director 
kad been able to obtain for Mm a pension of full 
pay on account of tke long time ke kad been in tke 
service. Tkere were tkree otkers still in tke works, 
wko also began fifty-seven years ago. Suck cases are 
tke more remarkable, because tkese natives are usual- 
ly unable to labor at tke age of tkirty-five or forty, 
on account of tkeir dissolute kabits. Most of tkeir 
mackinery is not as nicely finisked as tkat imported 
from Europe, but it appears to be quite as durable. 
Yet tke fact tkat some Javanese kave tke capacity to 
do nice work was proved by one in ckarge of tke en- 
graving-department,, wkose fine lines would kave been 
creditable to many a European. A merckant also 
kas a similar mackine-skop on a still greater scale. 

Near by are tke government artillery- works, wkere 
all tke parts of wood and iron and tke saddles and kar- 
nesses are manufactured, every tking but tke guns. 
Tke wood used is carefally-seasoned teak. It is ex- 
tremely durable, and combines in a good degree botk 



60 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

lightness and strengtli. Tlie leather is made by tlie 
natives from hides of the sapi, or cattle of Madura, 
the only kind seen here in Surabaya. It is light and , 
flexible, and somevi^hat spongy compared to that 
made fi'om our Northern hides. When it is wet it 
" spots," the wet places taking a darker color, which 
they retain when the leather again becomes dry. The 
director of the works thought that these defects might 
be remedied by adopting some other mode of tanning 
it. The leather made from the hide of the buffalo 
is thin, and, at the same time, excessively rigid. 

The streets of Surabaya are narrow compared to 
those of Batavia; but they are far better provided 
with shade-trees of different species, among which 
the tamarind, with its highly compound leaves, ap- 
pears to be the favorite. Here, as in all the other chief 
cities of the archipelago, the dusty streets are usually 
sprinkled by coolies, who carry about two large wa- 
tering-pots. In the centre of the city, on an open 
square, is the opera-house, a large, well-proportioned 
building, neatly j)ainted and frescoed within. In the 
suburbs is the public garden, nicely laid out, and 
abounding in richly-flowering shrubs. There were a 
number of birds peculiar to the East : a cassowary 
from Ceram, a black-swan from Australia, and some 
beautiful wild pheasants ( Galhis) from Madura. Of 
this genus, Gcdlus, there are two wild species on that 
island and in Java. One of these, Gallus hankiva^ 
is also found in Sumatra and the peninsula of Ma- 
lacca. A third species is found in the Philippines, but 
none is yet known in the great islands of Borneo and 
Celebes or in any of the islands eastward. On the 



\\^ 



y // 







WATERING THE STREETS, JAVA. 



From a photograph. 



COCK-FIGHTING. 61 

peninsula of Malacca, Sumatra, Borneo, and tlie Spice 
Islands, tlie Malay Avord mjaiin is used, but on tlie 
Philippines and Java the Javanese word maniik is 
frequently heard— it has hence been inferred that the 
Malays and Javanese were the first to domesticate it, 
and distribute it over the archipelago. Temminck 
regards the Gallus hanhiva as the progenitor of our 
common fowl. If he is right in this conjecture, it 
was probably brought into Greece by the Persians, 
for the Greeks sometimes called it the "Persian 
bird." ■^* Its early introduction into Europe is shown 
by representations of it on the walls of the Etruscan 
tombs, and Mr. Crawfard states that it was found in 
England more than two thousand years ago. The 
small variety known to us as " the Bantam," is not a 
native of Java, but received that name because it 
was first seen by European traders on Japanese 
junks which came to that city to trade. 

All the Malay race, except the Javanese, have 
the most inordinate thirst for gambling, and their 
favorite method of gratifying this passion is cock- 
fighting. This is forbidden by the Dutch Govern- 
ment ; but in the Philippines the S]3anish only sub- 
ject the gamblers to a heavy tax, and the extent to 
which it is indulged in those islands is indicated 
by a yearly revenue of forty thousand dollars from 
this source alone. 

The passion for this vice among the Malays is 
also shown in their language ; for, according to Mr. 
Crawfurd, there is one specific name for cock-fight- 
ing, one for the natural and one for the artificial spur 

* Crawfurd's Diet. Ind. Arch. 



62 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

of tlie cock, two names for tlie comb, three for crow- 
ing, two for a cock-pit, and one for a professional 
cock-fighter. 

But to return to tlie garden, wkere, among more 
interesting objects, were some images of tbe Brah- 
man or Buddhist gods, worshipped by the ancient 
Javanese. One, particularly monstrous, appeared to 
have the body of a man and the head of a beast. A 
favorite model was to represent a man with the head 
of an elephant, seated on a throne that rested on a 
row of human skulls, , 

Hinduism was undoubtedly introduced into the 
archipelago in the same way as Mohammedanism — 
namely, by those who came from the West to trade, 
first into Sumatra, and afterward into Java and Cele- 
bes. This commercial intercourse probably began in 
the very remotest ages ; for, according to Sir Gardner 
Wilkinson, the Egyptians used tin in manufacturing 
their implements of bronze two thousand years be- 
fore the Christian era, and it is more probable that 
this tin came from the Malay peninsula than from 
Cornwall, the only two sources of any importance 
that are yet known for this valuable metal, if we in- 
clude with the former the islands of Billiton and 
Banca. In the "Periplus of the Erythraean Sea," 
written about a. d. 60, it is stated that this mineral 
was found at two cities on the western coast of India, 
but that it came from' countries farther east. In this 
same descriptive treatise it is also mentioned that the 
malahratlirum^ a kind of odoriferous gum imported 
from India for the use of the luxurious Bomans, was 
found at Barake, a port on the coast of Malabar, 




From a photograph. 



EARLY COMMERCE IN TEE ARCHIPELAGO. Q^ 

but that it likewise came from some land farther 
east ; and malalbrathrum is supposed hj many to 
be the modern benzoin, a resin obtained from the 
Styrax henzoin^ a plant only found in the lands of 
the Battas, in Sumatra, and on the coast of Brunai, 
in the northern part of Borneo. 

Although we gather from the records of Western 
nations these indications of products coming from 
the archipelago in the earliest ages, yet we have no 
information in regard to the time that the Hindu 
traders, who sailed eastward from India and pur- 
chased these valuable articles, succeeded in planting 
their own religion among those distant nations. The 
annals of both the Malay and Javanese are evidently 
fanciful, and are generally considered unreliable for 
any date previous to the introduction of Mohamme- 
danism. Simple chronological lists are found in Java, 
which refer as far back as a. d. 78 ; but Mr. Craw- 
furd says that " they are incontestable fabrications, 
often differing widely from each other, and con- 
taining gaps of whole centuries." 

The j)eople who came from India on these early 
voyages Avere probably of the same Talagu or Telugu 
nation as those now called by the Malays " Klings " 
or " Kalings," a word evidently derived from Kalinga, 
the Sanscrit name for the northern part of the coast of 
Coromandel. They have always continued to trade 
with the peninsula, and I met them on the coast of 
Sumatra. Barbosa, who saw them at Malacca when 
the Portuguese first arrived at that city, thus de- 
scribes them : '^' " There are many great merchants 

* Crawfurd's Diet. Incl. Arch., " Hindustan." 



64 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

here, Moor as well as Gentile strangers, but diiefly 
of tlie Chetis, who are of the Coromandel coast, and 
have large ships, which they call giunchi " (junks). 
Unlike the irregular winds that must have greatly 
discouraged the early Greeks and Phoenicians from 
long voyages over the Euxine and the Mediterra- 
nean, the steady monsoons of the Bay of Bengal in- 
vited those peoj)le out to sea, and by their regular 
changes promised to bring them within a year safely 
back to their homes. 

The United States steamship Iroquois was then 
Jying in the roads, and our consular agent at this 
port invited Captain Eodgers, our consul from Batavia, 
who was there on business, and myself, to take a ride 
with him out to a sugar-plantation that was under 
his care. In those hot countries it is the custom to 
start early on pleasure excursions, in order to avoid 
the scorching heat of the noonday sun. We were 
therefore astir at six. Our friend had obtained a 
large post-coach giving ample room for four persons, 
but, like all such carriages in Java, it was so heavy 
and clumsy that both the driver and a footman, who 
was perched up in a high box behind, had to con- 
stantly lash our four little ponies to keep them up to 
even a moderate rate of sj)eed. Our ride of ten miles 
was over a well-graded road, beautifully shaded for 
most of the way with tamarind-trees. Parallel with 
the carriage-roads, in Java, there is always one for buf- 
faloes and carts, and in this manner the former are al- 
most always kept in prime order. Such a great double 
highway begins at Angir, on the Strait of Sunda, and 
extends throughout the whole length of the island to 



THE TELEGRAPH IN JAVA AND SUMATRA. 65 

Banyuwangi, on tlie Strait of Bali. It passes near 
Bantam and Batavia, and tlience along tlie low lands 
near tlie north coast to Clieribon and Samarang, 
thence south of Mount Japara and so eastward. This, 
I was informed, was made by Marshal Daendals, who 
governed Java under the French rule in 1809. There 
is also a military road from Samarang to Surakarta 
and Johyokarta, where the two native princes now 
reside, Java also enjoys a very complete system of 
telegraphic communication. On the 23d of October, 
1856, the first line, between Batavia (Weltevreden) 
and Buitenzorg, was finished. ^ Immediately after, it 
was so rapidly extended that, in 1859, 1,670 English 
miles were completed. A telegraphic cable was also 
laid in that year from Batavia up the Straits of Banca 
and Rhio to Singaj)ore ; but, unfortunately, it was 
broken in a short time, probably by the anchor of 
some vessel in those shallow straits. After it had 
been repaired it was immediately broken a second 
time, and in 1861 the enterprise was given up, but 
now they are laying another cable across the Strait 
of Sunda, from Angir to the district of Lampong; 
thence it will extend up the west coast to Bencoolen 
and Padang, and, passing across the Padang plateau, 
through Fort de Bock and Paya Kombo, come to the 
Strait of Malacca, and be laid directly across to Singa- 
pore. 

These Javanese ponies go well on a level or down- 
hill, but when the road becomes steep they frequent- 
ly stop altogether. In the hilly parts of Java, there- 
fore, the natives are obliged to fasten their buffaloes 
to your carriage, and you must patiently wait for 

5 



66 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

those sluggisli animals to take you up to tlie crest of 
the elevation. 

Our road tliat morning led over a low country, 
whicli vras devoted wholly to rice and sugar-cane. 
Some of these rice-fields stretched away on either 
hand as far as the eye could see, and' appeared as 
boundless as the ocean. Numbers of natives were 
scattered through these wide fields, selecting out the 
ripened blades, which their religion requires them to 
cut off one hy one. It appears an endless task thus 
to gather in all the blades over a wide plain. These 
are clipped off near the top, and the rice in this state, 
with the hull still on, is called " paddy." The re- 
maining part of the stalks is left in the fields to enrich 
the soil. After each crop the ground is spaded or 
dug up with a large hoe, or ploughed w^ith a buffalo, 
and afterward harrowed with a huge rake; and to aid 
in breaking up the clods, water to the dej^th of four 
or five inches is let in. This is retained by dikes 
which cross the fields at right angles, dividing them 
up into little beds from fifty to one hundred feet 
square. The seed is sown thickly in small plats at 
the beginning of the rainy monsoon. When the 
plants are four or five inches high they are transferred 
to the larger beds, which are still kept overflowed for 
some time. They come to maturity about this time 
(June 14th), the first part of the eastern monsoon, or 
dry season. Such low lands that can be thus flooded 
are called swwas. Although the Javanese have built 
magnificent temples, they have never invented or 
adopted any apparatus that has come into common 
use for raising water for their rice-fields, not even the 



VISIT TO A SUGAR PLANTATION. Q^ 

simple means employed by tlie ancient Egyptians 
along tlie hill, and wMcli tlie slabs from tlie palaces 
at Nineveli show ns were also used along the Eu- 
phrates. 

Only one crop is usually taken from the soil each 
year, unless the fields can be readily irrigated. Ma- 
nure is rarely or never used, and yet the sawas ap- 
pear as fertile as ever. The sugar-cane, however, 
quickly exhausts the soil. One cause of this probably 
is that the whole of every cane is taken from the field 
except the top and root, while only the upper part of 
the rice-stalks are carried away, and the rest is burned 
or allowed to decay on the ground. On this account 
only one-third of a plantation is devoted to its cul- 
ture at any one time, the remaining two-thirds being 
planted with rice, for the sustenance of the natives 
that work on that plantation. These crops are kept 
rotating so that the same fields are liable to an extra 
drain from sugar-cane only once in three years. On 
each plantation is a village of Javanese, and several 
of these villages are under the immediate manage- 
ment of a confroleur. It is his duty to see that a cer- 
tain number of natives are at work every day, that 
they prepare the ground, and put in the seed at the 
proper season, and take due care of it till harvest- 
time.'"'' 

The name of the plantation we were to see was 
" Seroenie." As we neared it, several long, low, white 
buildings came into view, and two or three high 



'*' For the history of the culture-system and government in the Nether- 
lands India, consult Money's " Java." 



68 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

cliiniiieys, pouring out dense volumes of black smoke. 
By tke road was a dwelling-liouse, and the " fabrik " 
was in tke rear. Tke canes are cut in tke field and. 
bound into bundles, eack containing twenty-five. 
They are tken kauled to tke factory in clumsy, two- 
wkeeled carts called pedatis, witk a yoke of sapis. 
On tkis plantation alone tliere are two hundred suck 
carts. Tke mode adopted kere of obtaining tke 
sugar from tke cane is tke same as in our country. 
It is partially clarified by pouring over it, wkile yet 
in tke eartken pots in wkick it cools and crystallizes, 
a quantity of clay, mixed witk water, to tke consist- 
ency of cream. Tke water, filtering tkrougk, waskes 
tke crystals and makes tke sugar, wkick up to tkis 
time is of a dark brown, almost as wkite as if it kad 
been refined. Tkis simple process is said to kave 
been introduced by some one wko noticed tkat 
wkerever tke birds stepped on tke brown sugar witk 
tkeir muddy feet, in tkose places it became strange- 
ly wkite. After all tke sugar kas been obtained tkat 
is possible, tke ckeap and impure molasses tkat drains 
off is fermented witk a small quantity of rice. 
Palm-Avine is tken added, and from tkis mixture is 
distilled tke liquor known as " arrack," wkick conse- 
quently differs little from rum. It is considered, and 
no doubt rigktly, tke most destructive stimulant tkat 
can be placed in tke kuman stomack, in tkese kot 
regions. From Java large quantities are skipped to 
tke cold regions of Sweden and Norway, wkere, if it 
is as injurious, its manufacturers are, at least, not 
obliged to witness its poisonous effects. 

After tke sugar kas been dried in tke sun it 




A TANDU. 



From a photograph. 



^,*!iiiifei 




THE SAPI, OR OX OF MADURA. 



p. 68. 



WHERE OUR SUGAR-CANE CAME FROM. 69 

is packed in large cylindrical baskets of bamboo, 
ancl is ready to be taken to market and skipped 
abroad."^ 

Three species of tke sugar-cane are recognized by 
botanists : tke Saccliarum sinensis of Ckina ; tke 
Saccliarum officinarum of India, wkick was introduced 
by tke Arabs into Soutkern Europe, and tkence trans- 
ported to our own country f and tke West Indies ; and 
tke Saccliarum molaceiim of Takiti, of wkick tke cane 
of tke Malay Arckipelago is probably only a variety. 
Tkis view of tke last species is strengtkened by tke 
similarity of tke names for it in Malaysia and Poly- 
nesia. Tke Malays call it tabu ; tke inkabitants of 
tke Pkilippines, tubu ; tke Kayans of Borneo, turo ; 
tke natives of Floris, between Java and Timur, and 
of Tongatabu, in Polynesia, tau ; tke people of Takiti 
and tke Marquesas, to ; and tke Sandwick Islanders, Too. 

It is eitker a native of tke arckipelago or was in- 
troduced in tke remotest times. Tke Malays used to 
cultivate it tken as tkey do now, not for tke purpose 
of making sugar, but for its sweet juice, and great 
quantities of it are seen at tkis time of year in all 
tke markets, usually cut up into skort pieces and tke 
outer layers or rind removed. Tkese people appear 
also to kave been wkoUy ignorant of tke mode of 
making sugar from it, and all tke sugar, or more 
properly molasses, tkat was used, was obtained tken 
as it is now in tke Eastern islands, namely, by boil- 

* During 1865 the government sold 250,000 piculs (16,666 tons) of 
sugar, but the total exported from Java was two million piculs. 

t Our word sugar comes from the Arabic saJcar, and that from the 
Sanscrit sarkm'a, thus indicating in its name how it first came to be 
known to Europeans. 



70 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

ing down the sap of the gomuti-palm {Borassus go- 
muti).^ 

Sugar from cane was first brought to Europe 
by the Arabs, who, as we know from the Chi- 
nese annals, frequently visited Canpu, a port on 
Hanchow Bay, a short distance south of Shanghai. 
Dioscorides, who lived in the early part of the first 
century, appears to be the earliest writer in the West 
who has mentioned it. He calls it saccliaron^ and 
says that " in consistence it was like salt." Pliny, 
who lived a little later in the same century, thus de- 
scribes the article seen in the Roman markets in his 
day : " Saccharon is a honey which forms on reeds, 
white like gum, which crumbles under the teeth, and 
of which the largest pieces are of the size of a fil- 
bert." (Book xii., chap. 8.) 

This is a perfect description of the sugar or rock- 
candy that I found the Chinese manufacturing over 
the southern and central parts of China during my 
long journey ings through that empire, and at the same 
time it is not in the least applicable to the dark- 
brown, crushed sugar made in India. 

* Mr. Crawfurd states that it is a similar product made from the sap 
of the Palmyra palm {Borassus flahelliformis), and not the sugar of the 
cane, that forms the saccharine consumption of tropical Asia, i. e., among 
the Co chin- Chinese, the Siamese, the Burmese, and the inhabitants of 
Southern India, including the Telinga nation Avho introduced Hinduism 
and Sanscrit names among these people, and probably were the first to 
teach them how to obtain sugar from the sap of palm-trees. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE FLOEA AND FAUNA OF THE TEOPICAL EAST. 

June l^tli. — At 8 a. m. we left our anchorage off 
Surabaya, and steamed down the Madura Strait for 
Macassar, tlie capital of Celebes. Along tlie sliores 
of tlie strait were many villages of fishermen, and 
bamboo weirs extending out to a distance of five or 
six miles from both the Java and Madura shores, and 
showing well how shallow the water must be so 
far from land. During the forenoon it was nearty 
calm, but the motion of the steamer supplied a 
pleasant air. In the afternoon the wind rose to a 
light breeze from the east. At noon we passed Pulo 
Kambing (" Goat Island "), a small, low coral island 
off the south coast of Madura. Near by was a fleet 
of small fishing-boats, each containing two men, who 
were only protected from the broiling sun by a hat 
and a narrow cloth about the loins. These boats 
and other larger ones farther out to sea were ex- 
tremely narrow, and provided with outriggers. 

Madura receives its name from a Hindu legend, 
which makes it the abode of the demigod, Baladewa. 
It has but one mountain-range, and that crosses it 
from north to south. It is, therefore, not well wa- 



72 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

tered, and unsuitable for raising rice ; and many of 
its people liave been obliged to migrate to tlie ad- 
joining fertile shores of Java. The coffee-tree is 
raised on this island, but the land is best adapted for 
pasturage of the sapi^ which is similar in its habits 
to our own neat-cattle, and never wallows in mires 
and morasses like the buffalo. In the mountains on 
the western part of Java, a wild species, the hanteng 
{Bos sondaicus), is still found. It is not regarded 
as the source of the sapi^ but a fertile cross is ob- 
tained from the two, and this intermediate breed is 
said to be the one used on Bali and Lombok. The 
sapi is found on all the islands to and including Ti- 
mur, on Borneo, Celebes, and the Spice Islands, and. 
has been introduced into the Philippines since their 
discovery, and now lives in a wild state on Luzon, 
just as the cattle of the pampas in South America, 
which have also descended from the domesticated 
breeds imported by the Spaniards. 

On the eastern end of the island, which is quite 
low, great quantities of salt are obtained by evapo- 
rating water in " pans," or small areas enclosed with 
low dikes, like rice-fields. It is also manufactured in 
a similar manner at several places on the north coast 
of Java and on the western shore of Luzon, in the 
province of Pangasinan. Generally the coasts of the 
islands throughout the archipelago are either too high, 
or so low as to form merely muddy morasses, which 
are mostly covered with a dense growth of mangroves. 
In some places on the south coast of Java, sea- 
water is sprinkled over sand. When this water has 
evaporated the process is repeated. The sand is then 



MODE OF MANUFACTURING SALT. Y3 

gathered, and water filtered tlirougli it and evapo- 
rated by artificial heat. In Borneo, and among 
some of tlie Philippines, marine plants are burned, 
and the lye made from their ashes is evaporated 
for the sake of the salt contained in the residuum. 
All through the interior, and among the mountains, 
houses are built for storing it, and officials are ap- 
pointed to dispose of it to the natives. The quan- 
tity yearly manufactured for the government at all 
the various places is about 40,000 koyangs, or 80,000 
tons ; but it is not allowed to be shipped and used 
until it is five years old, and a supply of 200,000 
koyangs, or 400,000 tons, is therefore constantly kept 
on hand. It is deposited in the government store- 
houses by individuals at one-third of a guilder j)er 
picul. It is then transported and sold at a great 
profit by the government, which monopolizes the 
traffic in this necessary condiment, and obtains a 
large portion of its revenue in this manner.''"'" 

In the afternoon we were abreast the high Tenger 
(i. e., wide or spacious) mountains. Here is the famous 
" Sandy Sea," a strange thing on an island covered 
with such luxuriant vegetation as everywhere appears 
in Java, To reach it one has to climb an old vol- 
cano to a height of about 7,500 feet above the sea, 
when he suddenly finds himself on the rim of an old 
crater of an irregular elliptical form, with a minor 



* The prices obtained for it are established as follows : On Madura 
and the north coast of Java, 6.92 guilders; on the south coast, 5.92 gl. ; 
at Bencoolen, Padang, and Priaman, on the west coast of Sumatra, 
6.66f gl. ; Ayar Bangis and Natal, 6 gl. ; Palembang, 5.10 gl. ; Banca, 
6.72 gl, ; Bandyermassin, 6.66 gl. ; Sambas and Pontianak, 5.10 gl. 



74 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

axis of tlwee and a half and a major axis of four and 
a half miles. It is the largest crater in Java, and 
one of tlie largest in tlie world. Its bottom is a level 
floor of sand, wMcli in some places is drifted by tlie 
wind like tlie sea, and is properly named in Malay 
tlie Lant Pasar, or " Sandy Sea." From this sandy 
floor rise four cones, where the eruptive force has suc- 
cessively found vent for a time, the greatest being 
evidently the oldest, and the smallest the present 
active Bromo, or Brama, from the Sanscrit Brama, 
the god of fire. The position and relation of this 
Bromo, as compared to the surrounding crater, is en- 
tirely analogous to those that exist between Vesuvius 
and Monte Somma. The outer walls of this old 
mountain are of trachytic lava, and Dr. Junghuhn 
thinks its history may be summed up thus : first, a 
period when the trachyte was formed; this was fol- 
lowed by a period of trachytic lavas, then of obsid- 
ian ; fourth, of obsidian and pumice-stone ; fifth, 
the sand period, during which an enormous quantity 
of sand was thrown out, and the present sandy floor 
formed with the cones rising from it ; and sixth, the 
present ash-period, during which only fine ashes are 
thrown out from time to time, and steam and sul- 
phurous acid gas are constantly emitted. 

The earliest descriptions of this crater represent 
it nearly as it is seen at the present day; but great 
eruptions, similar to the one supposed to have oc- 
curred, have been witnessed by Europeans since they 
first came to Java. In the year 1772 the volcano 
Papandayang, which is near the south coast of Java, 
and about in Long. 108° E., threw out such an 



ERUPTION OF MOUNT GALUNGGONG. 75 

immense quantity of scorisB and ashes, tliat Dr. 
Jungliulm thinks a layer nearly fifty feet tliick was 
spread over an area within a radius of seven miles ; 
and yet all this was thrown out during a single 
night. Forty native villages were buried beneath it, 
and about three thousand souls are supposed to have 
perished between this single setting and rising of the 
sun. Dr. Horsfield, who drew up an account of this 
terrible phenomenon from the stories of the natives, 
wrongly supposed that " an extent of ground, of the 
mountain and its environs, fifteen miles long, and 
fall six broad, was by this commotion swallowed up 
within the bowels of the earth." 

On the 8th of July, 1822, Mount Galunggong, an 
old volcano, but a few miles northeast of Papanda- 
yang, suffered a far more terrible and destructive 
eruption. At noon on that day not a cloud could be 
seen in the sky. The wild beasts gladly sought 
the friendly shades of the dense forest ; the hum of 
myriads of insects was hushed, and not a sound was 
to be heard over the highly-cultivated declivities of 
this mountain, or over the rich adjoining plain, but 
the dull creaking of some native cart drawn by the 
sluggish buffalo. The natives, under shelter of their 
rude huts, were giving themselves up to indolent 
repose, when suddenly a frightful thundering was 
heard in the earth ; and from the top of this old vol- 
cano a dark, dense mass was seen rising higher and 
higher into the air, and spreading itself out over the 
clear sky with such an aj)palling rapidity that in a 
few moments the whole landscape was shrouded in 
the darkness of night. 



Y6 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

Tliroiigli this thick darkness flashes of lightning 
gleamed in a hundred lines, and many natives were 
instantly struck down to the earth by stones falling 
fi'oni the sky. Then a deluge of hot water and flow- 
ing mud rose over the rim of the old crater, and 
poured down the mountain-sides, sweeping away 
trees and beasts and human bodies in its seething 
mass. At the same moment, stones and ashes and 
sand were projected to an enormous height into the 
air, and, as they fell, destroyed nearly every thing 
within a radius of more than twenty miles. A few 
villages, that were situated on high hills on the lower 
declivities of the mountain, strangely escaped the 
surrounding destruction by being above the streams 
of hot water and flowing mud, while most of the 
stones and ashes and sand that were thrown out 
passed completely over them, and destroyed many 
villages that were farther removed from the centre 
of this great eruption. 

The thundering was first heard at half-past one 
o'clock. At four the extreme violence of the erup- 
tion was past ; at five the sky began to grow clear 
once more, and the same sun that at noon had shed 
his life-giving light over this rich landscape, at even- 
ing was casting his rays over the same spot then 
changed into a scene of utter desolation. A second 
eruption followed within five days, and by that time 
more than twenty thousand persons had lost their 
lives. 

When the mountain could be ascended, a great 
valley was found, which Dr. Junghuhn considers 
analogous to the " Val del Bove " on the flanks of 



JAVA COMPARED WITH CUBA. 77 

^tna, except tliat a great depression among these 
movable materials could not liave sucli higli, precipi- 
tous walls as are seen in tliat deep gulf. This erup- 
tion was quite like that of Papandayang, except that 
there was a lake in the bottom of this crater which 
supplied the hot water and the mud, while all the 
materials thrown out by the former volcano were in 
a dry state. In a similar way it is supposed the 
great crater and the "Sandy Sea" of the Tenger 
Mountains were formed in ancient times. On these 
Tenger Mountains live a peculiar people, who speak 
a dialect of the Javanese, and, despite the zealous 
efforts of the Mohammedan priests, still retain their 
ancient Hindu religion. 

In the evening, fires appeared on the hills near 
the sea. This was the last we saw of Java, which, 
though but one-sixth of the area of Borneo, and one- 
third that of Sumatra, is by far the most important 
island in the archipelago. It is to the East Indies 
what Cuba is to the West Indies. In each there is 
a great central chain of mountains. Both shores of 
Cuba are opposite small bodies of water, and are con- 
tinuously low and swampy for miles, but in Java 
only the north coast borders on a small sea. This 
shore is low, but the southern coast, on the margin 
of the wide Indian Ocean that stretches away to 
the Antarctic lands, is high and bold, an exception 
which is in accordance with the rule that the higher 
elevations are opposite the greater oceans, or, more 
properly, that they stand along the borders of the 
ocean-beds or greatest depressions on the surface 
of our globe. In Java, where the coast is rocky. 



78 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

the rocks are hard, volcanic basalts and tracliytes, 
wliicli resist the action of* the sea, and the shore-line 
is therefore quite regular; but in Cuba there is a 
fringing of soft coral rock, which the waves quickly 
wear away into hundreds of little projecting head- 
lands and bays, and on the map the island has a 
ragged border. In its geological structure, Cuba, 
with its central axis of mica slates, granitic rocks, 
serpentines, and marbles, has a more perfect analogue 
in Sumatra; for in Java the mountains, instead of 
being formed by elevations of preexisting strata, are 
merely heaps of scorise, ashes, sand, and rock, once 
fluid, which have all been ejected out of separate 
and distinct vents. The area of Java is estimated at 
38,250 square geographical miles; that of Cuba at 
about 45,000. The length of Java is 575 geographi- 
cal or 666 statute miles; that of Cuba 750 statute 
miles. But while the total population of Cuba is 
estimated only at a million and a half, the total 
population of Java and Madura is now (1865), 
according to official statements, 13,917,368.* In 
1755, after fifteen years of civil war, the total popu- 
lation of Java and Madura was but 2,001,911. In 
a single century, therefore, it has increased more than 
sixfold. This is one of the beneficial efi^'ects of a 
government that can put down rebellions and all in- 
ternal wars, and encourage industry. In Cuba, of a 
total area of thirty million acres, it was estimated, in 
1857, that only 48,572 were under cultivation, or, 

* Of this number 27,105 are Europeans; 13,704,535 are natives; 
156,192 are Chinese ; 6,764 are Arabs ; and 22,772 are from other East- 
ern nations. See Appendix B. 



THE FORESTS OF JAVA. 79 

including pasturage, 218,161 acres. In Java and 
Madura, last year (1864), tlie cultivated fields and 
the groves of cocoa-nut palms covered an area of 
2,437,037 acres. In Cuba, from 1853 to 1858, tlie 
yearly exports were from 27,000,000 to 32,000,000 of 
dollars, and the imports of about the same value. In 
Java, last year, the imports amounted to 66,846,412 
guilders (26,738,565 dollars) ; and the exports to the 
enormous sum of 123,094,798 guilders (49,237,919 
dollars). During 1864 twenty-foui' ships arrived from 
the United States, of 12,610 tons' capacity, and three 
sailed for our country, of a united capacity of 2,258 
tons.^ 

Both of these great islands abound in forests, 
that yield large quantities of valuable timber. Java 
furnishes the indestructible teak, from which the 
Malays and Javanese fitted out a fleet of three hun- 
dred vessels that besieged Malacca, two years after 
it had fallen into the hands of the Portuguese. In 
like manner the Spaniards, between 1724 and 1796, 
built with timber from the forests of Cuba an armada 
that numbered one hundred and fourteen vessels, 
carrying more than four thousand guns. From the 
Cuban forests come the indestructible lignum-vifw, 
and the beautiful mahogany. Those jungles shelter 
no wild animals larger than dogs, but these in Java 
are the haunts of wild oxen, tigers, one large and two 
small species of leopard, the rhinoceros, two wild 
species of hog, and -five species of weasel. Two of 
the latter yield musk ; and one, the YiA^erramusanga^ 

* For a list of tlie number of ships that arrived during 1864, their 
tonnage, and the countries from which they came, see Appendix E. 



80 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

of tlie size of a cat, is also found in tlie Philippines. 
Six species of deer are found on this island, and two 
of tliem, tlie Cervus rufa and Cervus mantjaG^ are 
sometimes domesticated.* Tlie elephant is not found 
in Java, though it lives in Sumatra, Borneo, and the 
peninsula. Also the wild horse of Sumatra or Cele- 
bes does not exist in Java. 

Among the more noticeable birds of Java is a 
beautiful species of peacock, the Pavo spicifer. It 
was represented to me as quite abundant in some 
places along the south coast. The natives make very 
beautiful cigar-holders from fine strips of its quills. 
In Sumatra it is not found, but is represented by an 
allied species. Of pigeons, Java has no less than ten 
s|)ecies. The web-footed birds are remarkably few in 
species and numbers. A single duck, a teal, and two 
pelicans, are said to comprise the whole number. The 
white heron has already been noticed, and besides 
this, ten other species have been described. One of 
the smallest birds in Java, and yet, perhaps, the 
most important, from its great numbers, is the rice- 
eater, FTinfigilla oryzwora, a kind of sparrow. Great 
flocks of these birds are continually annoying the 
Malays as soon as the rice is nearly grown. The 

I' 

* Albinos are occasionally found among these animals. For a long 
time previous to 1840 there was a famous "white deer" on the coast at 
Antju, in the vicinity of Batavia. Many attempts were made to shoot 
it, and these invariably proved so unsuccessful, that the natives, finding 
they had an opportunity to give way to their insatiable love for the mar- 
vellous, were all fully con^Tinced that this animal was invulnerable. It 
was, however, shot at last, and proved to be of a gray, rather than a 
pure white. In 1845 a young one of a pure white color was caught at 
Macassar. 



MODE OF FRIGHTENING BIRDS. 81 

natives have a very simple and eifective mode of 
driving tliem away. In tlie midst of a field a little 
bamboo house, sufficient to shelter its occupant from 
the rain and scorching sunshine, is perched high up 
on poles above the rice-stalks. Around each field are 
placed rows of tall, flexible stakes, which are con- 
nected together by a string. Many radiating lines of 
such stakes extend from the house to those along the 
borders, and the child or old person on watch has 
simply to pull any set of these lines in order to 
firighten away the birds from any part of the field. 
There are seven species of owls, and when the hooting 
of one is heard near any house, many of the natives 
believe that sickness or some other misfortune will 
certainly come to the inmates of that dwelling. Of 
eagles and falcons, or kites, eight species are men- 
tioned. One of the kites is very abundant at all the 
anchorages, and so tame as to light on the rigging of a 
ship quite near where the sailors are working. When 
it has caught any offal in its long talons, it does not 
fly away at once to a perch to consume the delicious 
morsel at its leisure, like many birds of prey, but is 
so extremely greedy that it tears off pieces with its 
beak and swallows them as it slowly sails along in 
the air. 

When we begin to examine the luxuriant flora 
of these tropical islands, almost the first tree that we 
notice by the shore is the tall, graceful cocoa-nut palm. 
Occasionally it is found in small clumps, far from 
the abode of man, for instead of being reared by his 
care, it often comes to maturity alone, and then in- 
vites him to take up his abode beneath its shade, by 



82, TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

offering Iiim at the same time its fruit for food, and 
its leaves as ample thatcliing for tlie only kind of a 
hut whicli lie thinks he needs in an unchanging, 
tropical climate. 

As it stands along the shore, it invariably inclines 
toward its parent, the sea, for borne on the waves 
came the nut from which it sprang, and now fully 
grown, it seeks to make a due return to its ancestor 
by leaning over the shore and dropping into the 
ocean's bosom rich clusters of its golden fruit. Here, 
buoyed up by a thick husk which is covered with a 
water-tight skin, the living kernel safely floats over 
the calm and the stormy sea, until some friendly 
wave casts it high up on a distant beach. The hot 
sun then quickly enables it to thrust out its root- 
lets into the genial soil of coral sand and fragments 
of shells, and in a few years it too is seen tossing its 
crest of plumes high over the white surf, which in 
these sunny climes everywhere forms the margin of 
the deej)-blue ocean. 

When the nut is young, the shell is soft and not 
separate from the husk. In a short time it turns from 
a pale green to a light yellow. The shell is now 
formed, and on its inner side is a thin layer, so soft 
that it can be cut with a spoon. The natives now 
call it Ma/pa miida^ or the young cocoa-nut, and they 
rarely eat it except in this condition. As it grows 
older, the exterior becomes of a wood-color, the husk 
is dry, and the shell hard and surrounded on the in- 
side with a thick, tough, oily, and most indigestible 
layer, popularly known as "the meat" of the nut. 
This is the condition in which it is brought to our 



MODE OF MAKING COCOA-NUT OIL. 83 

markets, but tlie Malays seldom or never think of 
eating it in this condition, and only value it for its 
oil. To obtain this the nut is broken, and the meat 
scraped out with a knife. This pulp is then boiled 
in a large pan, when the oil separates, floats on the 
top, and is skimmed off. This oil is almost tlie only 
substance used for lighting in the East, where far more 
lights are kept burning, in proportion to the foreign 
j)opulation, than in our own temperate zone, notwith- 
standing our long winter evenings, it being the 
custom there for each man to light his house and 
veranda very brilliantly every evening ; and, if it is 
a festive occasion, rows of lamps must be placed 
throughout his grounds. 

The natives also are fond of such display. The 
common lamp which they have for burning cocoa- 
nut oil is nothing but a glass tumbler. This is 
partly filled with water, a small quantity of oil is 
then poured in, and on this float two small splints 
that support a piece of pith in a vertical position for 
a wick. When the oil is first made, it has a sweet, 
rich taste, but in such a hot climate it soon becomes 
extremely rancid, and that used for cooking should 
not be more than two or three days old. The cool, 
clear water which the young nuts contain is a most 
refreshing drink in those hot climates, far preferable, 
according to my taste, to the warm, muddy water 
usually found in all low lands within the tropics. 
Especially can one appreciate it when, exposed to the 
burning sun on a low coral island, he longs for a 
single draught from the cold sparkling streams 
among his native New-England hills. He looks 



84 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

around liim and realizes tliat lie is surrounded by 
the salt waters of tlie ocean — tlien one of his dark 
attendants, divining his desire, climbs the smooth 
trunk of a lofty palm, and brings down, apparently 
from the sky, a nectar delicious enough for the gods. 

This tree is of such importance to the natives 
that the Dutch officials are required to ascertain as 
nearly as possible the number of them in their sev- 
eral districts. In 1861 there were in Java and 
Madura nearly twenty millions of these trees, or 
more than three to every two natives. 

Near the cocoa-nut grows the Pandamis^ or 
" screw-pine," which may be correctly described as a 
trunk with branches at both ends. There are two 
species of it widely distributed over the archipelago. 
The flowers of one, the P. odoratissimus, are very 
fragrant and highly prized among the Malays. In 
some places mats and baskets are made from its 
leaves. Its woody fniit is of a spherical form, from 
four to six inches in diameter, and its surface is divi- 
ded with geometrical precision by projections of a 
pointed pyramidal or diamond shape. 

On the low lands, back from the shore, where the 
soil has been enriched with vegetable mould, the 
banana thrives. Unlike the cocoa-nut tree, it is sel- 
dom seen where it has not been planted by the 
hand of man. The traveller, therefore, who is worn 
out with his long wanderings through the thick, 
almost impassable, jungles, beholds with delight the 
long, green, drooping leaves of this tree. He knows 
that he is near some native hut where he can find a 
shelter from the hot sun, and slake his thirst with 



THE BANANA. 85 

the water of tlie cocoa-nut, and appease Ms liunger 
on bananas and boiled rice, a simple and literally a 
frugal meal. Out of the midst of these drooping 
leaves hangs down the top of the main stem, with its 
fruit decreasing in size to the end. Some near the 
base are already changing from a dark green to a 
bright golden yellow. Those are filled with deli- 
cious juices, and they melt in your mouth like a deli- 
cately-flavored cream. Such bananas as can be 
purchased in our markets have been so bruised, and 
taste so little like this fruit at its home in the. 
tropics, or at least in the East Indian islands, that 
they scarcely serve to remind one of what he has 
been accustomed to enjoy. The number of the 
varieties of bananas and the difference between 
them is as great as among apples in our own 
land. 

Botanists call this tree the Mtisa paradisiaca^ for 
its fruit is so constantly ripening throughout the 
year, and is such a common article of food, that it 
corresponds well to " the tree that yielded her fruit 
every month," and whose " leaves were for the heal- 
ing of the nations." 

Besides these plants, there are also seen on the 
low lands Aroidece^ Amarantliacece^ papilionaceous 
or leguminous plants, and poisonous EupliorhiaGem. 
The papaw {Garica papaya) thrives luxuriantly on 
most soils. The natives are always fond of it, and I 
found it a most palatable fruit, but the Europeans 
in the East generally consider it a too coarse or com- 
mon fruit to be placed on the table. It was evident- 
ly introduced by the Portuguese and Spanish from 



86 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

the West Indies, and tlie Malay name papaya comes 
from the ^'psmish jyapayo. 

At tlie lieiglit of one thousand feet ferns appear 
in very considerable numbers, and here also the use- 
ful bamboo grows in abundance, though it is found 
all the way down to the level of the sea. Practically 
this is a tree, but botanically it is grass, though it 
sometimes attains a height of seventy or eighty feet. 
It is used by the natives for the walls of their huts. 
For this purpose it is split open and pressed out flat, 
and other perpendicular and horizontal pieces hold 
it in place. It is also used for masts, spear-handles, 
baskets, vessels of all kinds, and for so many other 
necessary articles, that it seems almost indispensable 
to them. Its outer surface becomes so hard when 
partially burned, that it will take a sharp, almost 
cutting edge, and the weapons of the natives were 
probably all made in this manner previous to the 
introduction of iron. At the present time sharpened 
stakes, ranjaus, of . this kind are driven into the 
ground in the tall grass surrounding a ladang or 
garden, so that any native with naked feet (except 
the owner) will spear himself in attempting to ap- 
proach. I saw one man, on the island of Burn, who 
had received a frightful, ragged wound in this way. 

Above one thousand feet the palms, bananas, and 
papilionaceous plants become fewer, and are replaced 
by the lofty fig or waringin^ which, with its high 
top and long branches, rivals the magnificent palms 
by the sea-shore. The liquidambar also accompa- 
nies the fig. Orchidaceous plants of the most Won- 
derful forms appear on the forest-trees, and are fas- 




BAMBOO. 



Froai a sketch by Rahden Sa}eh. 



THE COTTON-WOOD TREE. 8T 

tened to tliem so closely, tliat tliey seem to l^e parts 
of them. Here tlae ferns also are seen in great 
variety. Lorantliaceoe and Melanostomacece are found 
in tMs zone. To this region belongs tlie beautiful 
cotton- wood tree. Its trunk is seldom more tlian ten 
or twelve incites in diameter, and rises up almost 
perpendicularly thirty feet. The bark is of a 
light olive-green, and remarkably smooth and fair. 
The limbs shoot out in whorls at right angles to 
the trunk, and, as they are separated by a considera- 
ble space, their open foliage is in strong contrast to 
the dark, dense jungle out of which they usually 
rise. They thrive well also along the banks of 
rivers. In Java these trees are frequently used as 
telegraph-posts — a purpose for which they are ad- 
mirably adapted on account of their regularity. Be- 
sides, any thing but a living post would quickly 
decay in these tropical lands. The fruit is a pod, 
and the fibrous substance it yields is quite like cot- 
ton. I found it very suitable for stuffing birds. 

Over this region of the fig comes that of oaks 
and laurels. Orchidaceous plants and melastomas 
are more abundant here. 

Above five or six thousand feet are ItubiaceoB^ 
heaths, and cone-bearing trees ; and from this region 
we pass up into one where small ferns abound, and 
lichens and mosses cover the rocks and hang from 
the trees. The tropical world is now beneath us, 
and we are in the temperate zone. 

The tops of all those volcanic mountains that are 
still in a state of eruption are usually bare ; and in 
others so large a quantity of the sulphur they pro- 



88 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

duce is washed down tlieir sides by tlie rains tliat 
tlie vegetation is frequently destroyed for some dis- 
tance below tlieir summits. 

One of the great privileges of a residence in the 
tropics is to enjoy the delicious fruits of those re- 
gions in all their perfection. Of all those fruits, in 
my opinion, the mangostin ought unquestionably 
to be considered the first. This tree, a Garcinia, is 
about the size of a pear-tree. Its Malay name is 
onanggiista^ whence our own, but it is more gener- 
ally known in the archipelago by the Javanese name 
manggis. It flourishes in most of the islands from 
the south coast of Java to Mindanao, the southern- 
most of the Philippines, On the continent it yields 
well as far up the Peninsula of Malacca as Bankok, 
in Siam, and in the interior to 16° N., but on the 
coast of the Bay of Bengal only to 14° N. The at- 
tempts to introduce it into India have failed, but the 
fruit is sometimes sent from Singapore after it has 
been carefully coated with wax to exclude the air. 
In Ceylon they have only partially succeeded in cul- 
tivatins: it. All the trials to raise it in the West 
Indies have proved unsuccessful, so that this, the 
best of all tropical fruits, is never seen on our conti- 
nent. Its limited geographical range is the more 
remarkable, for it is frequently seen flourishing in 
the East Indian islands on all kinds of soils, and 
there is reason to suppose that it has been introduced 
into the Philippines within a comparatively late 
period, for in 1685 Dampier did not notice it on 
Mindanao. The fruit is of a spherical form, and a 
reddish-brown color. The outer part is a thick, tough 




FRUIT-MARKET, JAVA. 



From a photograph. 



THE CHOICEST OP TROPICAL FRUITS. 89 

covering containing a wliite, opaque centre an incli or 
more in diameter. Tliis is divided into four or five 
parts, eacli of wMcli usually contains a small seed. 
This v^liite part lias a sligttly-sweet taste, and a ricli 
yet delicate flavor, wliicli is entirely peculiar to it- 
self. It tastes perhaps more like the white interior 
of a checkerberry than any other fruit in our tem- 
perate climate. The thick covering is dried by the 
natives and used for an astringent. 

Several fruits claim the second place in this scale. 
Some Europeans v^ould place the rambutan next the 
mangosti7i^ and others v^ould prefer the mango or 
the dul&u. The rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum) is 
nearly as large as an apple-tree. The fruit is globu- 
lar in form, and an inch or an inch and a half in 
diameter. The outside is a bright-red rind, orna- 
mented with coarse, scattered bristles. Within is a 
semi-transparent pulp, of a slightly acid taste, sur- 
rounding the seed. This tree, like the durian and 
the mangostin^ is wholly confined to the archipelago, 
and its acid fruit is most refreshing in those hot lands. 
At Batavia it is so abundant in February and March, 
that great quantities almost line the streets in the 
market parts of the city, and small boats are seen 
filled to overflowing with this bright, strawberry- 
colored fruit. 

The mango-tree {Ifangifera indicci) is a large, 
thickly-branching tree, with bright-green leaves. Its 
fruit is of an elliptical form, and contains a flat stone 
of the same shape. Before it is ripe it is so keenly 
acid, that it needs only to be preserved in salt water 
to be a nice pickle for the table, especially with the 



90 TRAVELS IN THE ExiST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

universal cuny. As it ripens, tlie interior clianges 
from green to wliite, and then to a briglit yellow. A 
tougli outer skin being removed, there is seen a soft, 
almost pulpy, but somewhat fibrous mass within. 
Some of these fruits are extremely rich, and quite 
aromatic, while others have a sharp smack of turpen- 
tine. They even vary greatly in two localities, which 
may be but a few miles apart. Eumphius informs us 
that it was introduced into the moluccas by the 
Butch in 1655. It has also been introduced into 
Zanzibar and Madagascar, When the Spaniards first 
visited the Philippines it was not noticed, but now it 
is very common in those islands, and considerable 
quantities of it are shipped to China, where I was 
frequently assured it was very delicious ; but those 
who have tasted this or any other tropical fr'uit fi'om 
only one locality are by no means competent judges. 
At Singapore I found some very nice ones that had 
been brought down from Siam. It also flourishes in 
India, and Mr. Crawfurd thinks, from the fact that 
the Malay and Javanese names are evidently only 
corruptions of the old Sanscrit, that it was originally 
brought into the archipelago from the continent, and 
should not be regarded as indigenous. 

The diiku is another highly-esteemed fruit. The 
tree is tall, and bears a loose foliage. From its trunk 
and limbs little branchlets grow out, bearing in long 
clusters the fruit, which is about the size of a robin's 
<dgg. The outer coating of this fruit is thin and 
leathery, and of a dull-yellow color. This contains 
several long seeds, surrounded by a transparent pulp, 
which is sweet or pleasantly acid. The seeds them- 



THE DURIAN. 91 

selves are intensely bitter. The natives, however, in- 
variably 23refer the diirian to all other fruits. The 
Durio zihethinus is a very large tree. Its fruit is 
spherical in form, six or eight inches in diameter, and 
generally covered with many sharply-pointed tuber- 
cles. This exterior is a hard shell. Within it is 
divided into several parts. On breaking the shell, a 
seed, as large as a chestnut, is found in each division, 
surrounded by a pale-yellow substance of the con- 
sistency of thick cream, and having an odor of j)utrid 
animal matter, so strong that a single fruit is enough 
to infect the air in a large house. In the season for 
this fruit the whole atmosphere in the native villages 
is filled with this detestable odor. The taste of this 
soft, salvy, half-clotted substance is well described by 
Mr. Crawfurd as like " fi^esh cream and filberts." It 
seems paradoxical to state that the same substance 
may \dolate a man's sense of smell, and yet gratify 
his sense of taste at the same time, but the natives 
certainly are most passionately fond of it, and I once 
met a foreigner who assured me that when he had 
once smelled this fruit he could never be satisfied till 
he had eaten some of it. Its simj)le odor is generally 
quite enough for all Europeans. It thrives well in 
Sumatra, Java, the S|)ice Islands, and Celebes, and is 
found as far north as Mindanao. On the continent 
forests of it exist on the Malay Peninsula, and it is 
successfully raised as far north in Siam as the thir- 
teenth or fourteenth parallel. On the coast of the 
Bay of Bengal it is gro^vn as far north as Tenasserim, 
in Lat. 14° N. It flourishes well on all the kinds of 
soils in this area, but all attempts have failed to in- 



92 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

troduce it into India and also into tlie "West Indies. 
Its Malay name durian conies from diiri^ a thorn, and 
is thus applied on account of the sharp, thorny points 
of the pyramidal tubercles that cover its shell. The 
fact, that the Malay name is the one used wherever 
the fruit is known, indicates that it originated in a 
Malay country, and this view is strengthened by the 
circumstance that, while I was crossing Sumatra, I 
passed through large forests mostly composed of. 
these trees in the high lands near the sources of the 
Palembang River. 

Another far-famed fruit is the bread-fruit. It grows 
on a tree, the Artocarpus mcisa, which attains a height 
of forty or fifty feet. It will be noticed at once by the 
stranger, on account of its enormous, sharplydobed 
leaves, which are frequently a foot wide and a foot 
and a half long. The fruit has nearly the form of a 
melon, and is attached by its stem directly to the 
trunk or limbs. It is regarded of little value by the 
Malays, but farther east, in the Society Islands, and 
other parts of the South Sea, it furnishes the natives 
■with their chief sustenance. Just before it is ripe it 
is cut into slices and fried, and eaten with a thick, 
black molasses, obtained by boiling down the sap of 
the gomuti-palm. When prepared in this manner it 
tastes somewhat like a potato, exce23t that it is very 
fibrous. The seeds of this fruit in the South Sea 
are said, when roasted, to be as nice as chestnuts, but 
I never saw the Malays make any use of them. From 
the Pacific Islands it has been introduced into the 
West Indies and tropical America. Another species 
of this genus, the A. integrifolia^ bears the huge 



BALI. 93 

"jack-fruit " wliicli very closely resembles tlie bread- 
fruit. Sometimes it attains a weiglit of nearly sev- 
enty-five pounds, so that one is a good load for a coo- 
lie. Tlie only part whicli the natives eat is a sweet, 
pulj)y substance enveloping each. seed. 

June IQtli. — This morning the gigantic mountain 
on Bali, Gunung Agung, or " The Great Mountain," 
towered up abeam of us against the southern sky. 
According to Mr. Crawfurd it attains an elevation of 
twelve thousand three hundred and seventy-nine feet, 
or four hundred and thirty-three feet higher than the 
far-famed Peak of Teneriffe. 

These mountains are only a continuation of the 
chain which traverses Java, and Bali may be regarded 
as almost a part of Java, as it has quite the same flora 
and fauna, and is only separated from that island by 
a narrow strait. Here the Asiatic fauna of Sumatra, 
Borneo, and Java reaches its most eastern boundary. 
On Lombok, the next island eastward, a wholly dif- 
ferent fauna is seen, having well-marked affinities 
with that of Australia. According; to the traditions 
of the Javanese, Sumatra, Java, Bali, Lombok, and 
Sumbawa, were all formerly united, and afterward 
separated into nine different parts, and when three 
thousand rainy reasons shall have passed away they 
will be reunited. The dates of these separations are 
given as follows : 

Palembang (the eastern end of Sumatra) from 
Java, A. D. 1192. 

Bali from Balembangan (the eastern end of Java), 
A. D. 1282. 

Lombok from Sumbawa, a. d. 1350. 



94: TEAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

All these dates are absurdly recent, and besides, 
tlie separations, in all probability, did not occur in tlie 
order given above. When we compare tlie fauna of • 
the continent with that of Sumatra, Java, and Borneo, 
we find that Sumatra has the greatest number of 
species identical with those of the Peninsula of Ma- 
lacca ; that Borneo has a somewhat less proportion, 
and that Java has the largest number peculiar to it- 
self. Thence we conclude that Java was the first of 
these islands that was separated from the continent, 
that Borneo was next detached, and Sumatra at the 
latest period. Bali was probably sej)arated from Java 
at a yet more recent date. 

Mr. Sclater was the first to notice the fact that 
the dividing line between the Asiatic fauna and that 
of Australia must be drawn down the Strait of Ma- 
cassar, and this observation has only been confirmed 
by all who have collected in those regions since. 
Mr. A. R. Wallace further ascertained that this 
line should be continued southward, through the 
Strait of Lombok, between the island of that name 
and Bali. He visited the latter island, and thus con- 
trasts its birds with those of Lombok : " In Bali we 
have barbets, fruit-thrushes, and woodpeckers ; on 
passing over to Lombok these are seen no more, but 
we have an abundance of cockatoos, honeysuckers, 
and brush-turkeys (^MegapodiidcB), which are equally 
unknown in Bali, and every island farther west. The 
strait here is but fifteen miles wide, so that we may 
pass in two hours from one great division of the 
earth to another, differing as essentially in their ani- 
mal life as Europe does from America." 



A PLATEAU BENEATH THE SEA. 95 

The royal tiger of Sumatra and Java is also found 
on tliat part of Bali nearest Java, but neither this 
nor any other feline animal exists on Lombok. 

Monkeys, squirrels, civets, and others are seen 
west of this dividing line, but not east of it. Wild 
hogs are distributed over all the larger islands from 
Sumatra to NeAV Guinea, and even occur as far east- 
ward as Ceram. The flora of these islands is not 
divided in this manner, but maintains quite the same 
character from the northern end of Timur to the 
eastern end of Java. 

In 1845 Mr. Earl pointed out the fact that Java, 
Sumatra, and Borneo, all stand on a plateau which 
is only covered by a shallow sea. They therefore 
not only were formerly connected, as the similarity 
of their faunae shows, but are at the present day, 
and a line on the map, which indicates where the sea 
reaches a depth of one hundred fathoms, shows exact- 
ly where the great basins of the Pacific and Indian 
Oceans really begin. Northward this line unites the 
Philippines to Asia, and also proves that Formosa, 
the Lew-Chew and Japanese Islands, and the Kuriles, 
are all parts of the same great continent. Judging 
from what is known of their fauna, Mr. Wallace 
thinks the separation of the Philippines from the 
continent occurred before that of Java, and since that 
epoch they have undergone very considerable changes 
in their physical geography. 

In 1478, when the Hindu religion was driven 
out of Java, it took refuge in Bali, where it exists 
to the present day. The natives here, as in India, 
are divided into four castes. The first and high- 



96 TEAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

est includes only tlie priests; the second, the sol 
diers; tlie third, tlie mercliants; and tlie fourtli 
and lowest, comprises the common laborers. A& 
cording to Mr. Crawfurd, wlio visited tlie island 
tlie wives of the soldiers frequently sacrifice tliem 
selves by stabbing with the h^is, and the body 
is afterward burned, and " with the princes, the sac- 
rifice of one or two women is indispensable." The 
high mountains on Bali contain a number of lakes or 
tarns, which supply many streams, and the natives 
are thus enabled to irrigate their land so completely, 
that about twenty thousand tons of rice are annually 
exported to other parts of the archipelago, after a 
population of nearly three-quarters of a million is 
supplied. In 1861 Java had only a population of 
three hundred and twenty-five to a square mile, while 
Bali was supposed to have nearly five hundred, and 
it is probably the most densely populated island in 
these seas at the present time. 

The Hindu religion also prevails over a part of 
Lombok. On this island a huge mountain rises up, 
according to the trigonometrical measurements of 
Baron van Carnbee, to a height of twelve thousand 
three hundred and sixty English feet, and probably 
overtops every other lofty peak in the whole archi- 
pelago. 



CHAPTER IV. 

CELEBES AND TIMUE. 

June l^tli. — ^We ancliored this evening close in to 
tlie coast of Celebes on a shallow plateau, wliicli is 
really only a sliglitly-snbniergecl part of the island 
itself. This word Celebes is not of native origin, 
and was probably introduced by the Portuguese, who 
were the earliest Europeans that visited this island. 
It first appears in the historical and descriptive writ- 
ings of De Barros,^" who informs us that it was not 
discovered until 1525, fourteen years after the Portu- 
guese first came to the Moluccas ; but . at that time 
they were only anxious to find the regions where the 
clove and the nutmeg grew. Afterward they were 
induced to search for this island from the rumors that 
came of the gold found here ; and, indeed, to this 
day, gold is obtained in the northern and southwest- 
ern peninsulas. At first, Celebes was supj)osed to 

* Jao de Barros, who wrote a classical history of the regions dis- 
covered and conquered by the Portuguese in the East, was born in 1496, 
and died in 15T0. He never visited the Indies, but carefully and faith- 
fully compiled his descriptions from the official records, which were all 
intrusted to his care, in 1532. The first decade of his work was pub- 
lished in 1552, the second in 1553, the third in 1563, and the fourth after 
his death. He was, therefore, a contemporary of most of the early navi- 
gators whose history he narrates. 
1 



98 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

consist of many islands, and this belief appears to 
have given it a name in a plural form. It consists of 
a small, iiTegular, central area and four long limbs or 
peninsulas, and De Cauto ^' very aptly describes it as 
" resembling in form a huge grasshopper." Two of 
these peninsulas extend to the south, and are sej)a- 
rated from each other by the Gulf of Boni: one 
takes an easterly direction, and the other stretches 
away six degrees to the north and northeast. In the 
southwest peninsula, which is the only one that has 
been completely explored, two languages are spoken 
— the Mangkasara, in the native tongue, or Mang- 
kasa, in the Malay (of which word, " Macassar," the 
name of the Dutch capital, is only a corruption), and 
the Wugi or Bugi, which was originally more par- 
ticularly limited to the coast of the Gulf of Boni. 
North of Macassar, in the most Avestern part of the 
island, is another people — the Mandhar — who S23eak 
another lano;uao;e. On the island of Buton, which 
ought to be considered a part of the peninsula east 
of the Gulf of Boni, another language is spoken. 
The eastern peninsula is unexplored. The northern 
contains the people speaking the Gorontalo and the 
Menado lano;uao;es. 

The primitive religion of most of these natives is 
supposed to have been some form of Hinduism. De 

* Diogo de Oauto, who wrote the " Asia Portuguesa," was bora in 
Lisbon in 1542, and died at Goa, the Portuguese capital of India, in 1616, 
at- the age of seventy-four. It is believed that he went to India at the 
age of fourteen, and, after having lived there in the army ten years, re- 
turned to Portugal, but soon after went back, and continued there till his 
death. It is probable that he never visited any part of the archipelago 
himself, but obtained from others the information he gives us. 



THE HEAD-HUNTERS OF CELEBES. 99 

Cauto says : " Tliey Lave no temples, but pray look- 
ing up to tlie sides witli their lieads raised," whicli lie 
regards as conclusive evidence that " they had a 
knowledge of the true God." According to the rec- 
ords of the Macassar |)eople,*^ the Mohammedan re- 
ligion was first taught them by a native of Menang- 
kabau, a province on the plateau in the interior of 
Sumatra, north of the present city of Padang. This 
occurred just before the arrival of the Portuguese in 
1525, and the native annals say that the doctrine of 
the false Prophet and of Christianity were pre- 
sented to the prince of Macassar at the same time, 
and that his advisers pressed him to accept Moham- 
medanism, because " God would not allow error to 
arrive before truth." 

In the interior live a people called by the coast 
tribes Turaju, who are represented as head-hunters, 

* The early kings of Macassar boasted that they descended from the 
Tormanurong, who, according to their legends, had this miraculous his- 
tory as given in Pinkerton's " Voyages," vol. ii., p. 216. In the earliest 
times, it happened that a beautiful woman, adorned with a chain of 
gold, descended from heaven, and was acknowledged by 4;he Macassars 
as their queen. Upon hearing of the appearance on earth of this celes- 
tial beauty, the King of Bantam made a long voyage to that land, and 
sought her hand in marriage, though he had before wedded a princess 
of Bontain. His suit was granted, and a son was begotten in this mar- 
riage, who was two or three years old before he was born, so that he 
could both walk and talk immediately after his birth, but he was very 
much distorted in shape. When he was grown up, he broke the chain 
of gold which his mother had brought from heaven into two pieces, 
after which she, together with her husband, vanished in a moment, 
taking with her one half the chain, and leaving the other half and the 
empire to her son. This chain, which the Macassars say is sometimes 
heavy and sometimes light, at one time dark colored and at another 
bright, was ever afterward one of the regalia of the kings until it was 
lost in a great revolution. 



100 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

and even cannibals. Barbosa * makes a similar state- 
ment in regard to all tlie natives of this island in his 
time. He says, wlien they came to the Moluccas to 
trade, they were accustomed to ask the king of those 
islands to kindly deliver up to them the persons he 
had condemned to death, that they might gratify 
their palates on the bodies of such unfortunates, " as 
if asking for a hog." 

As we steamed up the coast to Macassar, the 
mountains in the interior came grandly into view. 
They appear much more connected into chains than in 
Java. One of them, Lompo-batung, rises to a height 
of eight thousand two hundred feet above the sea, and 
is probably the loftiest peak on the whole island. 

The harbor of Macassar is formed by a long, 
curving coral reef, with its convex side from the 
shore. At a few places this reef rises above the sur- 
face of the water and forms low islands ; but, in the 
heavy gales of the western monsoon, the sea fre- 
quently breaks over it into the road with such vio- 
lence as to drive most of the native praus on shore. 
Near it were fleets of fishing-boats, and this was the 
first place in these tro|)ical seas where I found a fish 
that, according to my taste, was as nice as those which 
come from the cold waters that bathe our New-Eng- 
land shores. 

* Odoardo Barbosa (in Spanish, Balbosa) was a gentleman of Lisbon, 
who travelled in the East during his youth. From his writings it appears 
probable that he visited Malacca before it was conquered by the Portu- 
guese in 1511. His work appeared in 1516. In 1519 he joined Magel- 
lan, and was treacherously murdered by the natives of Zebu, one of the 
Philippines, in 1521, four days after the great navigator, whom he ac- 
companied, had suffered a like fate. 



VOYAGES OF THE BUGIS. 101 

In tlie road were many prans of forty or fifty tons' 
burden, and some even twice as large. In tlie begin- 
ning of tlie western monsoon they go in great num- 
bers to the Arru Islands, tlie principal rendezvous * 
for the people of Ceram, Goram, the Ki Islands, Te- 
nimber, Baba, and the adjacent coast of New Guinea. 
Mr. Wallace, who was particularly seeking the birds 
of paradise, went in one of these rude vessels to the 
Arms, a distance of one thousand miles. When Mr. 
Jukes was at Port Essington, in January, 1845, two 
of these praus were there. One had made the pas- 
sage from Macassar in ten, and another in fifteen 
days. But, on these long voyages, many never re- 
turn. In the last of the month a third came into 
that port and reported that four others, more than 
had arrived safely, had just foundered during a 
heavy gale, and that the crew of only one was saved. 
Many go every year to the islands off the eastern 
end of Ceram and to the neighboring coast of Papua, 
and sometimes along its northern shores to Geelvink 
Bay. These long voyages indicate that the Bugis 
are now what the Malays were when the Portuguese 
first came to the East, namely, the great navigators 
and traders of the archipelago. They carry to all 
these localities English calicoes and cotton goods of 
their own manufacture, also Chinese gongs and large 
quantities of arrack. They bring in return tortoise- 
shell, mother-of-pearl shell, pearls, birds of paradise, 
and tripang^ which appears to be the common Malay 

* Mr. "Wallace estimated the value of tlie goods carried there from 
Macassar alone at 200,000 guilders (80,000 dollars), and those brought 
from other places at 50,000 guilders (20,000 dollars) more. 



102 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

name for all kinds of Holotliurians^ or " sea-cucum- 
bers." These latter animals abound on every coral 
reef througliout tlie arcMpelago, just above and 
below low-water level. As many as twenty different 
sorts are recognized of perhaps half as many species. 
That kind is considered the most valuable which is 
found on the banks of coral sand which are bare, 6r 
nearly bare, at low tide, and are covered with a short, 
green sea-weed. After the animals are collected, the 
intestines are- removed, and they are boiled in sea- 
water, in some places with the leaves of the papaw, 
and in others with the bark of a mangrove-tree which 
gives them a bright -red color. After they have been 
boiled, they are buried in the ground till the next 
day, when they are spread out to dry in the sun. 
Sometimes they are not buried in the ground, but 
dried at once on a framework of bamboo-splints over 
a fire. They are now ready to be shipped to China, 
the only market for this disgusting article. There 
the Celestials make of them one of their many favor- 
ite soups. It is said that the Chinese cooks boil 
them some time with pieces of sugar-cane to partially 
neutralize their rank flavor. Many are also gathered 
in the Gulf of Siam and sent up the China Sea. Mr. 
Crawfurd has been unable to discover any mention 
of tri/pang by the Portuguese writers, and this he re- 
gards as one proof, among others, " that the Chinese, 
who chiefly carry on this trade, had not yet settled 
in the archi|)elago when the Portuguese first appeared 
in it." There are yearly shipped from macassar some 
fourteen thousand piculs of this article, of a value of 
nearly six hundred thousand dollars ! A few car- 



SKILFUL DIVING. 103 

goes, cliiefly of coffee, from Menado and tlie interior, 
are exported eacli year directly to Europe, but sliips 
usually have to go to China for a return-freight. In 
1847 Macassar v^as made a free port, in imitation of 
Singapore. 

Our steamer came alongside a well-built iron pier, 
the only one of any kind I had yet seen in the East. 
Though the mail then came but once a month, there 
seemed to be no great excitement. A small group 
of soldiers, with red and yellow epaulets, came down 
and looked on in a most unconcerned manner, while 
a number of coolies gathered and began carrying the 
cargo on shore — for trucks and drays are modern 
innovations that have not yet appeared in these dis- 
tant regions, not even to any considerable degree in 
Batavia. The sea- water here is remarkably pure and 
clear. As we were hauling in to the pier, several 
boys kept swimming round and round the ship, and 
shouting out, " Ke/ping titan ! Moping tuan ! " that is, 
" A small piece of money, sir ! a small piece of 
money, sir ! " and I found that when I threw a cop- 
per coin as large as a cent, so that it would strike the 
water edo-ewise, even at a distance of ten feet from 
them, some one would invariably catch it before it 
reached the bottom. This is quite as wonderful 
skill as is shown by any of the natives in the South 
Seas. 

From the pier a street leads up to a large common, 
and on the right side is Fort Rotterdam, which was 
built soon after 1640, when the Dutch first formed a 
settlement on the island, though they had been trad- 
ing with the natives since 1607. In 1660 they had 



104 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

driven away their rivals tlie Portuguese, liad con- 
quered tlie natives of Macassar, and fully established 
theii' authority over all this part of the island. Op- 
posite the fort is the "Societeit," or Club-House — 
for every place of any considerable size in the Neth- 
erlands India has one or two of these pleasant 
resorts, where newspapers and periodicals are re- 
ceived, and all the social Europeans gather in the 
cool evenings to enjoy a " pijt "—a small glass of 
gin with bitters — or " a potje van bier," in just the 
way that Irving pictures the happy moments of Rip 
van Winkle. Any member may introduce a stranger, 
who is at once considered one of the fraternity ; and 
I formed many pleasant acquaintances and passed 
many pleasant hours in this way. Beyond the club- 
house, on a street beautifully shaded with tamarind- 
trees, are the hotel and residence of the governor. I 
called on him, for, as I was travelling under the 
patronage of the government, it was expected that 
I should present myself before the highest ofl&cial 
of each place that I might chance to visit, and thus 
express my sense of the kindness of the government 
toward me ; and, at the same time, do what the 
etiquette of the land requii'ed. The governor here 
most kindly offered me post-horses free, if I would 
stop and travel in the territory under his immediate 
command. After the heat of the day was passed, 
two of my merchant-friends gave me a ride through 
the town, and a mile or two out into the adjoining 
country, to visit the tombs of the native princes who 
ruled that region before the arrival of Europeans. 
These tombs had, originally, been enclosed in a 



TOMBS OF ANCIENT PRINCES. 105 

house, but tlie roof was already gone, and tlie walls 
were rapidly crumbling away. At the foot and 
head of each grave was a square pillar. Near by' 
were the ruins of a building which may have been 
the residence of one of these princes. It was, like 
the house enclosing the tombs, about thirty feet 
square, with an entrance on one side. In the front, 
and right and left sides, were two ranges of holes, 
probably designed for windows. The upper ones 
were small, but the lower ones were a foot and 
a half in diameter. Its walls were eighteen inches 
thick, and of the common coral rock. Several steps 
led up to the entrance, and this and the windows 
were grotesquely ornamented. De Cauto informs 
us that these people were accustomed " to burn 
their dead, and collect the ashes in urns, which they 
inter in separate fields, where they erect chapels, and 
for a year the relatives bring food, which they place 
on their tombs, and which the dogs, cats, and birds 
carry off." 

We then took a delightful walk through the 
adjoining forest of waringin-trees and cocoa-nut and 
betel-nut palms, and again and again I wished I 
could have photographic views of the scenery 
around us to show to my friends, for words utterly 
fail to convey any idea of the rich grouping of the 
palms and shrubbery, and festooning vines about 
us, as the setting sun shot into the luxuriant foliage 
long, horizontal pencils of golden light. 

Here we found the coffee-tree growing wild, and 
near by we c?ame to the tomb of a rich native mer- 
chant. It was a low, square building, surmounted 



106 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

by a dome, and tlie wliole enclosed by a wall about 
two feet liigli, whose outer surface was covered with 
blue plates of porcelain. As we approached, a mo- 
notonous, nasal chanting greeted our ears. It was' 
made by a native priest, who was repeating long 
prayers from the Koran, by the grave of his departed 
friends. The notes of his minor, melancholy chant 
echoed and reechoed widely through the quiet forest, 
and were the more impressive because they seemed 
to come from the abode of the dead. He invited us 
in, and showed us his books, which were written by 
hand, and yet all the characters were as neat and reg- 
ular as copperplate. In the grounds was a papaw- 
tree with a branch which bore at its summit leaves 
and fruit like the parent stem. 

On the 20th of June we sailed for Kupang, a 
port near the southern end of the island of Timur. 
The southern extremity of the southwestern penin- 
sula of Celebes is low, with mountains of moderate 
height rising in the interior. As we steamed past 
it on our way southward to Sapi Strait, between 
Sumbawa on one side and Commodo and Floris * on 
the other, we found that the eastern monsoon had 
already freshened to a strong breeze, but it was 
steady, and the sky and sea reminded one of " the 
trades." Many flying-fish sprang out of the sea, 
as if too happy to remain in their more proper 
element. 

On the second morning from Macassar, Gunong 
Api, " The Burning Mountain," rose up majestically 

* The name of tliis island comes from tlie Portuguese word^or, a 
flower ; plural, floris. 



THE GUNONG API IN SAP! STRAIT. IQY 

before us. Its higli top, five tliousand eight liundred 
feet above the level of the sea, was hidden by hori- 
zontal clouds, 8tixit% which parted while we were ob- 
serving the mountain, and let down a band of bright 
sunlight over its dark sides. It is not a single but a 
double peak — the one to the northwest appearing from 
the deep valleys and ravines in its sides to be the 
older. On the eastern flanks of this peak, near the 
shore, there appears to be an old crater, whose outer 
wall has been washed away by the sea. For one-third 
of the distance from the shore to the toj) of this peak 
there is some shrubbery in the bottoms of the deep 
ravines; but the remaining two-thirds are quite 
bare. At its top, this mountain ends in a small 
truncated cone. The southwestern peak seems to 
have recently formed, for, from its top down to the 
shore, on the southeast side, there is one continuous 
sheet of fine volcanic materials, scored only by nar- 
row grooves with perpendicular sides. When viewed 
in profile, the unbroken sweej) of its sides, from its 
summit to the sea, was most majestic. It was so reg- 
ular, that it was difficult to believe it had not been 
shaped by the hand of man. By this time we were 
in the midst of the strait between Sumbawa and 
Commodo, and soon we passed on the left hand Gil- 
libanta, whose highest point is only twelve hundred 
feet above the sea. Its name in Javanese means the 
" one that disputes the way." It is merely the rem- 
nant of an old crater, whose northwestern wall has 
disappeared beneath the sea. The southerly dip of 
the successive overflows of lava was plainly to be 
seen. 



108 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

On our riglit was Sumbawa, witli its liigli moun- 
tains, and near its southeastern end is Sapi, or 
Cattle Bay, wliicli gives its name to tlie strait. In a 
peninsula on the northern side of this island is Mount 
Tomboro, which suffered such a terrible eruption, and 
caused so much destruction of human life, in 1815. 
The first intimation that the people of Java received 
of this frightful phenomenon was a series of explo- 
sions, so closely resembling the reports of cannon, 
that at Jokyoharta, in Java, a distance of four hun- 
dred and eighty miles, troops were marched toward a 
neighboring j)Ost that was supposed to have been at- 
tacked. At Surabaya, gunboats were sent out to as- 
sist ships that were thought to be trying to defend 
themselves against pirates in the Madura Strait ; and 
at two places on the coast, boats put off to search for 
ships that were imagined to be in distress. These re- 
ports occurred on the 5th of April, and continued for 
five days, when the sky over the eastern part of Java 
began to be darkened by falling ashes, and for four 
days they could not see the sun. Mr. Crawfurd 
says that at Surabaya the sky for several months did 
not become as clear as it usually is in the southeast 
monsoon. Northward from Sumbawa the reports 
accompanying this eruption were heard as far as 
the island of Ternate, near Gilolo, a distance of seven 
hundred and twenty geographical miles, and so dis- 
tinctly, that the Kesident sent out a boat to look for 
the ship which was supposed to have been firing sig- 
nals. To the westward these reports were heard 
at Moko-moko, a post near Bencoolen, which is no 
less than nine hundred and seventy geographical 



ERUPTION OF MOUNT TOMBORO. 109 

miles in a rigM line — as far as from New York to the 
Keys off tlie southern extremity of Florida. Tlie aslies 
that were poured into the air during this eruption fell 
to the eastward, or against the prevailing wind, as far 
as the middle of Floris, about two hundred and ten 
geographical miles ; and westward on Java, in the 
mountains of Cheribon, about two hundred and sev- 
enty miles from the volcano. So great was the quan- 
tity of ashes thrown out at this time, that it is esti- 
mated that on the island of Lomboh, about ninety 
miles distant, forty-four thousand persons perished 
in the famine that followed. Dr. Junghuhn thinks 
that, within a circle described by a radius of two 
hundred and ten miles, the average depth of the 
ashes was at least two feet ; this mountain, therefore, 
must have ejected several times its own mass, and 
yet no subsidence has been noticed in the adjoining 
area, and the only change that has been observed is, 
that during the eruption Tomboro lost two-thirds of 
its previous height.'^ The captain of a ship disj)atched 

* The Eajali of Sangir, a village from twelve to fifteen miles south- 
east of the volcano, was an eye-witness of this fearful phenomenon, and 
thus describes it: "About 7 p.m., on the 10th of April, three distinct 
columns of flame burst forth, near the top of Tomboro Mountain, all of 
them apparently within the verge of the crater ; and, after ascending 
separately to a very great height, their tops united in the air in a 
troubled, confused manner. In a short time the whole mountain next 
Sangir appeared like a body of liquid fire, extending itself in every di- 
rection. The fire and columns of flame continued to rage with una- 
bated fury until the darkness, caused by the quantity of falling matter, 
obscured it at about 8 p. m. Stones at this time fell very thick at San- 
gir, some of them as large as a man's two fists, but generally not larger 
than walnuts. Between 9 and 10 p. m. ashes began to fall ; and soon 
after, a violent whirlwind ensued, which blew down nearly every house 
in the village of Sangir, carrying their tops and light parts along with 



110 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

from Macassar to tlie scene of this terrible plienome- 
non states : " On apjDroacMng tlie coast, I passed 
tlirougli great quantities of pumice-stone floating on 
tlie sea, wMcli liad at first tlie appearance of shoals, 
so much so that I sent a boat to examine one, which, 
at the distance of less than a mile, I took for a dry 
sand-bank, u|)ward of three miles in length, with 
black rocks in several parts of it." This is the kind 
of stones I saw floating over the sea as we were ap- 
proaching the Strait of Sunda. Besides the quanti- 
ties of this porous, foam-like lava, that are thrown 
directly into the sea by such eruptions, great quan- 
tities remain on the sides of the volcano, and on the 
surrounding mountains, and much of that is conveyed, 
during the rainy monsoon, by the rivers to the ocean. 
The land at the southeast extremity of Sumbawa 
appears to be comj)osed of a light-colored clay, the 
strata of which have been greatly plicated. 

Several ugly rocks rise in this strait. The largest 
is named, in the native tongue, "The Eye of the 
Devil," and it winked at us most wickedly out of 
the white surf as we passed. While in the Java Sea, 
before entering the strait, we had only light winds ; 
but, as we came into the Indian Ocean, we expe- 
rienced a strong breeze from the southeast. The 
current, which had been with us and against the 

it. In. tliat part of the district of Sangir adjoining Tomboro, its effects 
were mucli more violent, tearing up by the roots the hirgest trees, and 
carrying tliem into the air, together with naen,. houses, cattle, and what- 
ever else came within its influence. The sea rose nearly twelve feet 
higher than it had ever been known to do before, and completely spoiled 
the only small spots of rice-lands in Sangir. sweeping away houses and 
every thing within its reach." 



THE ISLAND OF SUMBAWA. ' ^X 

wind, was met off tlie soutliwest promontory of 
Floris Iby a current with the wind from the east, and 
at once the sea rose np into pyramidal masses, or 
formed waves that rolled over and broke against the 
wind, like those from the windward quarter of a ship 
which is sailing " on a wind." High mountains also 
line the Commodo and Floris side, but the scenery 
became especially grand as we rounded the south- 
west promontory of the latter island. It reminded 
me of the pictures of the precipitous coast of Scot- 
land, except that, while those rocks are all bare, these 
are all covered with the trailing plants that have 
gained a foothold in the crevices of these precipices. 
Floris is also called Ende, from the principal port of 
that name on its southern coast. The trade of this 
l^lace is mostly with Sandal-wood Island. It is also 
called Mangerai, the name of the chief place on its 
northern shore. The people of the latter port trade 
mostly with the Bugis and Malays. In the coves 
and bays on the northern coast near this strait many 
j^irates formerly took shelter. They were merely 
Malays or Bugis from Bali, Sumbawa, or Celebes. 
In the interior there is a people whose hair is frizzled. 
A similar one also live in the interior and moun- 
tainous part of Solor, Pintar, Lombata, and Ombay. 
Those living on the sea-coast belong to the brown 
or Malay race. On the south coast there is a tribe 
called Rakka, who are reported to be the worst 
kind of cannibals, accustomed not only to devour 
their enemies, but the bodies of their deceased rela- 
tives. 

At sunset we could just discern the outline of 



112 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

Sumba or Sandal- wood Island. It appeared uniform- 
ly higli, as it lias always been described. Mr. Jukes 
passed near its southeast point, wliile on a voyage in 
her Britannic Majesty's ship Fly from northern Aus- 
tralia to Surabaya. He describes it as composed of 
ranges of hills that rise immediately from the sea to 
a height of two thousand feet. The strata of these 
hills are nearly level, and appeared to be composed 
of comminuted coral. This would indicate that 
the island had undergone a great elevation during 
the later tertiary period. It is probably composed 
mostly of volcanic rocks, like the adjacent islands. 
Its area is about four thousand geographical square 
miles. The most frequented harbor is near the mid- 
dle of the northern shore. Vessels go there from 
Surabaya, in the latter part of the western monsoon, 
to purchase the active little ponies peculiar to this 
island, and return in the beginning of the eastern 
monsoon, after having remained there about three 
months. These horses are considered more valuable 
than those from any other part of the archipelago, 
except the Batta lands, in the interior of Sumatra. 
When a ship arrives, her crew at once scatter over 
the whole island, visiting all the various cmipongs^ 
or villages, to make their purchases. A Dutch 
officer, who has travelled over the island, informs 
me that these people have quite diiferent features 
fi'om the natives of the adjoining island of Savu, es- 
pecially the females, whose faces are much broader. 
They are said to have a peculiar language, and to be 
a separate nation ; but I judge from all I could learn 
that they form merely a subdivision of the Malay 



SANDAL-WOOD ISLAND. Hg 

family. The captain of an American whale-sliip, 
wliicli was wrecked on one of tlie southern ]3oints, 
complained to me that the natives stole every thing 
he brought on shore, and threatened him and his 
crew with violence; but I thint it v/as only be- 
cause he could not speak Malay, and because each 
party misunderstood the intentions of the other. 

At noon the next day we saw the lofty peak of 
Mount Homba rising up on Floris. It is said to be 
only seven thousand feet in height, but it appeared 
to us as hio-h as Mount Slamat in Java. At the 
eastern end of the island, opposite Adenara and 
Solor, is a small Portuguese settlement, called Larun- 
tuka. The extreme length of the island is about two 
hundred geographical miles, and its area a fraction 
larger than Sandal-wood Island. It yields much 
sandal-wood, and the natives state that copper is 
found there, but gold and iron are not known to 
occur. While in this part of the Indian Ocean, gen- 
erally in the morning, Ave had strong breezes from 
the southeast, which moderated at noon, and in- 
creased again at sunset. They varied considerably 
in the hour they began, and in their strength and 
duration, and were quite unlike the steady trades. 

At 2 p. M., on our third day from Macassar, we 
sighted the island of Semao, oif the bay of Kupang. 
Its northern end is only a rock, sparsely covered 
with trees. It has no mountains, and most of its 
beaches are composed of coral sand. 

After dark that evenino; we anchored near the 
village of Kupang, which is situated on the south side 
of a great bay, some twelve miles wide and twenty 



114 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

long. Tliis is a fine liarbor now in tlie eastern 
monsoon, but during the western monsoon it is so 
sliglitly protected by tlie nortliern end of Semao that 
tlie sea may be said to roll directly in from the open 
ocean. At sucli times the steamer is obliged to seek 
a partial shelter under the lee of a small island on 
the north side of the bay. Whalers, and merchant- 
ships bound to and from China in the western mon- 
soon, however, frequently call here, because it is the 
only harbor of any kind near the southern end of 
the island. If the projected line of steamers between 
northern Australia, Surabaya, Batavia, and Singa- 
pore, is established, this port would be one of the 
places they would visit. The village is situated on 
a sandy beach, that is terminated on either hand 
by cliffs of coral rock, which the sea has worn out 
into caves and small projecting points of the most 
grotesque forms. It has a population estimated at 
fi^om six to seven thousand. Its chief exports are 
tripang, beeswax from the interior, and a sandal- 
wood, which is said to be the best in the whole 
archipelago. They raise several kinds of the nicest 
oranges. The Mandarin orange, 23robably brought 
originally from China, is the most delicious of any 
kind of this fruit that I ever tasted. I doubt very 
much whether our West India Islands, or Sicily, or 
any other part of the world, can compete with Timur 
in the rich flavor of its oranges. The hills around 
the village are only covered with a scanty vegeta- 
tion, through which the coral rock outcrops, and in 
every direction the whole country, except in the val- 
leys, presents a most baiTen and uninviting aspect, 



THE DIFFERENT RACES ON TIMUR. 115 

compared to the ricUy-clotlied shores of Java, and 
most of the other islands we have seen. Indeed, 
none of the hills and high ridges throughout all the 
southern half of the island are covered with such 
dense forests as are seen in the eastern and northern 
parts of Java, and the middle and northern parts of 
Celebes, and over all the higher parts of Borneo and 
Sumatra. 

• As we passed through Sapi Strait, I noticed 
that, although both shores were green, yet forests 
appeared to be wanting both on Sumbawa and 
Floris, and this is also said to be true of Sandal- 
wood Island. It is also asserted that this is some- 
what the condition of the eastern end of Java and 
the southern end of Celebes. Probably the cause of 
this partial sterility is chiefly owing to the circum- 
stance that the southeast monsoon, which contin- 
ues here most of the year, from about March till 
ISTovember, comes over the dry, desert-like interior 
of Australia, and does not become saturated with 
moisture on its passage over the Arafura Sea. Most 
of the precipitation, therefore, that does take place 
on Timur, must occur on the southeast side of the 
water-shed, and it is possible that extensive forests 
may exist on that part of the island. The northern 
half of the island, which is owned by the Portuguese, 
is far more fertile, and if it were thickly inhabited, 
and properly cultivated, might yield large crops of 
coffee. On landing, the most surprising of all the 
objects that meet the eye are the natives. At that 
time there were at least six different kinds in this 
same village, besides descendants of Malay mothers, 



116 TRAVELS m THE EAST INDIAN AKCHIPELAGO. 

aud Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch, English, and prol)- 
ably American fathers, of every possible degree of 
mixture, a perfect Gordian knot for the ablest eth- 
nologist. Each of these varieties of natives had 
some peculiarity in dress, and one wore the hair 
long and frizzled ; but I doubt vrhether they could 
be referred to the true Papuan type. They ap- 
peared to be fair specimens of the aborigines, who 
have been already mentioned as inhabiting the in- 
terior of Floris, Solor, Omblata, Pintar, and Ombay. 
The natives of Savu are described as belonQ;ino; to 
this same group, which Mr. Crawfurd calls the Negro- 
Malayan race. The Rajah of Savu was at Kupang 
while we were there, and certainly was nearly of 
pure Malay blood. 

Contrary to what would be supposed, from its 
position, the island of Potti, ofp the southern end of 
Timur, is inhabited by a lank-haired race, who are 
probably Malays. They were represented to me, by 
the Resident of Kupang, as a most peaceable people, 
and very different in this respect from the wild 
natives of Timur. On the southeast coast of Timur, 
near Mount Alias, there is said to be a tribe of black 
people whose hair is frizzled, and, instead of being 
evenly distributed over the scalp, is collected into 
little tufts, a characteristic which seems to separate 
the Papuans from all other people. Mr. Earl says "^^ 
that some of the people on the table-land back of 
Dilli have " opaque yellow complexions, the exposed 
parts of the skin being covered with light-brown 

* "Native Eaces of the East Indian Arcliipelago, Papuans," by George 
Windsor Earl, M. K. A. S. London, 1853. 



HUMAN SACRIFICE. . 117 

spots or freckles,""" and tlie liair is straight, fine, and 
of a reddisli line, or dark-auburn color. Every inter- 
mediate variety of kair and complexion between tkis 
and tke black, or deep-ckocolate color, and tke short 
tufted kair of tke mountain Papuan, is found in 
Timur." Tkis statement w^ould indicate tkat all tke 
intermediate skades of difference were tke results of 
a mixture of tke Malayan and Papuan blood, and 
tkis seems to be tke probable origin of tke wkole 
T^egro-Malayan race. Its position in tkat part of tke 
arckipelago nearest Papua is in entire accordance 
witk tkis kypotkesis. 

Tradition says tkat tke Eajak of Kupang for- 
merly sacrificed a young virgin to tke skarks and 
crocodiles once every year, but tkis was generally 
regarded as a fable, until a gentleman visited tke 
island of Semao, some twenty years ago, and asserted 
tkat a raj all pointed out to kim a place on tke beack 
of a bay near tke soutkeast point of tkat island, 
wkere "it was tkeir custom after karvest to bring 
sugar-cane, rice, fowls, eggs, pigs, dogs, and a little 
child^ and offer tkem to tke evil spirits," and tke 
rajak furtker declared, tkat ke kad witnessed tkis 
murderous rite kimself. 

As we were to remain only one day, and I was 
ckiefly interested in collecting skells, I at once en- 

* Possibly the " spots," of which Mr. Earl, speaks, may have been 
caused by some disease, for spots of a lighter hue than the general color 
of the body are often seen among all Malays. Both the straight-haired 
Malaysians and the frizzled-haired Melanesians have the odd custom of 
rubbing lime into their hair, which gives it a duU-yellowish or reddish 
tinge. Mr. Earl, however, states that he has seen one native whose 
hair was naturally red^ a kind of partial albinoism. 



118 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

gaged a Malay guide to conduct me to a village near 
tlie shore, a mile westward toward Semao. Our 
road was a bridle-path, a few large stones having 
Ibeen removed, but the ragged coral rock everywhere 
projects so completely through the thin soil, that it 
was a constant wonder to me how the natives could 
travel barefoot with such apparent ease. We soon 
came to half a dozen circular huts, enclosed by a low 
stone wall. They were the most wretched abodes 
for human beings that I saw in all my journeys over 
the archipelago. The walls, instead of being made 
of boards or flattened bamboos, as in the other 
islands, are composed of small sticks about three feet 
high, driven into the ground. These supported a 
conical roof, thatched with palm-leaves. Ugly- 
looking pigs, with long bristles on their backs, were 
rooting about these detestable hovels. Soon after, 
we passed a burial-place. A low wall enclosed a 
small irregular plat, that was filled with earth. This 
contained one or more graves, each of which had for 
its foot and head stones small square pyramidal 
blocks of wood, with the apex fixed in the ground. 
The next village we entered contained only a dozen 
huts, A pack of wolf-like dogs saluted us with a 
fierce yelping and barking, and my attendant, after 
much shouting and bustle, roused the inmates of one 
of these miserable dwellings. The men were gone 
to fish, but the women and children came out to gaze 
at us, and when their dull apprehensions finally 
allowed them to realize that we had come to pur- 
chase shells, and had a good supply of small copper 
coins, they briskly hunted about, and soon brought 



PURCHASING SHELLS. 119 

me a large number of nautilus-sliells of enormous size. 
The children were nearly all entirely naked, and the 
women only wore a sarong, fastened at the waist and 
descending to the knees. This scanty clothing they 
supplied hj coyly folding their arms across their 
breasts as they approached to sell their shells. Those 
of the nautilus, they all agreed in saying, did not 
come from their own shores, but from Rotti ; and a 
gentleman, who had been along all the neighboring 
shores, assured me that he had seen the natives there 
dive for them, in about two fathoms at low tide, and 
bring them up alive, and that in this way great num- 
bers are gathered for food. 

The latter part of the western monsoon, or the 
changing of the monsoons, was recommended to me 
as the most favorable time to collect these rare 
animals. Besides the nautilus, I obtained many 
species of Pteroceras, Stromhus, and many beautiful 
cones and cyprseas. 

The coral rocks on the hills that we crossed con- 
tained specimens apparently of living species, at a 
height which I judge was five hundred feet above 
the level of the sea. I marked the whole in my note- 
book as merely a coral reef of very recent elevation. 
Since returning, and comparing this observation with 
the careful description of that region given by Mr. 
Jukes,* in his voyage of the Fly, I find he expresses 

* Mr. Jukes remarks, and I believe, most correctly, that "if tke term 
' jm-a kalk ' is applied lithologically to these tertiary rocks, it is to a 
certain extent applicable, as they have a concretionary and oolitic 
structure. If, however, it is meant to have a chronological meaning, it 
is either incorrectly applied, or the formation is incorrectly extended on 
the map to the neighborhood of Kupang." 



120 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

the same view, liaving seen this same late formation 
at an estimated lieiglit of six liundred feet above tlie 
sea ; and a plateau, wMcli rises in the interior to the 
height of one thousand feet, he also suspects is of the ' 
same origin. Mr. Schneider, however, has described 
a "kalk formatie," about Kupang, Avhich, fi'om its 
position on the map, would seem to be identical with 
that seen by Mr. Jukes and myself. This formation 
Mr. Schneider refers to the age of the " Coral Rag," 
of the Jura, in England. Other fossiliferous strata 
he regards as belonging to the old Oolitic period, or 
the Lias, and underlying all he thinks is a " diorite, 
or dioritic porphyry and amorphous dioritic por- 
phyry — the last, like that found in Humboldt's 
Bay, on the north coast of New Guinea, and much 
like the amorphous dioritic porphyry of Australia." 
Copper-veins are found more or less wherever the 
Jurassic beds appear, but in the greatest quantity 
nearest the diorite. 

On the eveninof of the 24th we steamed out of 
Kupang Bay, and along the northwest coast of 
Timur, for Dilli ; and all the way to that port we 
were so completely under the lee of the land, that 
we had only calms, and light airs from the southeast 
and east-northeast. With these light winds we 
always had a very clear sky ; but on coming round 
the southwestern end of Floris, and also on entering 
Kupang Bay, each time when there was a strong 
breeze from the east, the sky was remarkably thick 
and hazy. Our captain, who has made many voy- 
ages, at all seasons, in these seas, informs me that the 
sky is almost always thick when the eastern monsoon 



THE NORTHWESTERN COAST OF TIMUR. 121 

lias become strong. This coast of Timur is not low, 
like tlie north, coast of Java, but rises immediately 
\Yp from the sea, in a succession of hills. No gigan- 
tic and lofty peaks can be seen, as in Java, and in 
all the islands east to and including Ombay; the 
peaks along the water-shed, on. Timur, generally 
rising to not more than four or five thousand feet, 
and Lakaan, which is regarded as the highest in that 
chain, is supposed to be only six thousand. The soil 
appears to be very infertile, yet when the sun was 
ap23roaching the western horizon, and the cumuli, 
floating in the pure air, slowly drew along their 
changing shadows over the innumerable hills and 
valleys, the whole scene ^ was nearly as delightful 
as my first view of the tropics in coming up the 
Strait of Sunda. There is no road in the interior of 
the island, and every one who will travel the short- 
est distance, must go on horseback along the sandy 
beaches. 

This afternoon we passed Pulo Gula Batu, 
"Sugar-Loaf Island." It is quite high, with steep, 
almost perpendicular sides, ^which have a white, 
chalky appearance, and appear to be composed of 
strata of coral rock, which would indicate that it had 
recently been elevated above the sea. At sunset we 
entered Ombay Passage, the one that ships from 
England and America usually choose when going to 
China in the western monsoon, and frequently when 
returning in the eastern monsoon. One was just 
then drifting down into the Indian Ocean, on her 
homeward voyage. This was the first vessel we had 
seen since we passed down Sapi Strait, and left the 



122 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

Java Sea. It v\^as then nearly calm, and yet I saw 
flying-iisli come out of the water and go a consider- 
able distance before plunging into it again, tlius 
proving tliat they must sustain themselves in the air 
chiefly by a vibrating motion of their great pectoral 
fins. The sun was now sinking behind the high, 
dark peaks of the island of Pintar. 

At daylight next morning we were steaming 
into a little bay surrounded by hills of fifteen hun- 
dred to two thousand feet. At the head of the bay 
and around its southern shore extended a narrow 
strip of level land, bordering the bases of these high 
hills. On the low land are two miserable forts, 
and a few houses and native huts. These comprise 
the city of Dilli, the Portuguese capital in all these 
waters. Of all the nations in Europe, the Portu- 
guese were the first to discover the way to the In- 
dies by sea. Then, for a time, they enjoyed an un- 
disputed monopoly over the Eastern trade ; but now 
the northern half of this island, the eastern end of 
Eloris, the city of Macao in China, and Goa in Hin- 
dustan, are the only places of importance in all the 
East that continue in their hands. The common, or 
low Malay language, has been more affected by the 
Portuguese than any other nation, for the simple 
reason that those early navigators brought with them 
many things that were new to the Malays, who there- 
fore adopted the Portuguese names for those articles. 
The last governor of this place had run away a few 
months before we arrived, because he had received 
no pay for half a year, though his salary was only 
five hundred guilders per month ; and a merchant 



A CORAL EEEF. 123 

at Macassar told me that, wlien lie arrived at tliat 
city, lie did not have tlie means to pay Ms passage 
back to Euroj)e. Tlie first inquiry, therefore, that 
was made, was whether we had brought a new gov- 
ernor. The captain's reply was, that he had but one 
passenger in the first cabin, and the only place he 
appeared to care to see in that region was the coral 
reef at the mouth of the harbor. 

The native boats that came off with bananas, 
cocoa-nuts, oranges, and fowls, were all very narrow, 
only as wide as a native at the shoulders. Each was 
merely a canoe, dug out of a single small tree, and 
built up on the sides with pieces of wood and palm- 
leaves. They were all provided with outriggers. It 
was then low water, and the reef was bare. It had 
not been my privilege to visit a coral reef, and I 
was most anxious to see one, but I could not make 
up my mind to risk myself in such a dangerous skiff. 
The captain, with his usual kindness, however, of 
fered me the use of one of his large boats ; and as 
we neared the reef, and passed over a wide garden 
richly-tinted with polyps, with here and there ver- 
milion star-fishes scattered about, and bright-hued 
fishes darting hither and thither like flashes of light, 
a deep thrill of pleasure ran along my nerves, which 
I shall never forget to the end of my days. Here in 
an hour I collected three species of beautiful star- 
fishes, and sixty-five kinds of shells, almost all of 
the richest colors. The coral rocks, thus laid bare 
by the receding tide, were all black, and not white, 
like the fragments of coral seen on shores. This reef 
is scarcely covered at high water, and therefore breaks 



124: TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

off all swell from tlie ocean ; but, unfortunately, tlie 
entrance is narrow, and tlie liarbor is too small for 
large sliips. . Only two vessels were there at that 
time. One was a brig from Amboina, that had come 
for buffaloes, or for sains, and the other was a small 
topsail schooner from Macassar, that had come for 
coffee, which is raised in considerable quantities on 
the plateau back of Dilli, and is brought down on 
the backs of horses. Long lines of them were seen 
ascending and descending the winding paths on the 
steep hill-sides back of the village. These declivities 
were sparsely covered with trees, but a thick grove 
of cocoa-nut palms grew on the low land bordering 
the bay. The name Dilli, according to Mr. Craw- 
furd, is identical with that of the Malay state on the 
northeastern side of Sumatra, which we call Delli, 
and he suspects from this fact that this area was set- 
tled by a colony of Malays from Sumatra in the ear- 
liest times. The word Timur, in the Malay, means 
" East," and this island was probably the limit of their 
voyages in that direction, hence its name. Immediate- 
ly off the harbor of Dilli lies Pulb Kambing, or Goat 
Island, a common name for many islands in the ar- 
chipelago. On both this island and Pintar the high- 
est peaks are at the southern end. North of Dilli 
the coast is steep, and the mountains rise abruptly 
from the sea. The sides of all these elevations are 
deeply scored with valleys that have been formed by 
the denuding action of rain. 

From Dilli we steamed northward along the south- 
east coast of Wetta, a high, mountainous island. . Its 
coasts are occupied by Malays, and its interior by a 



ISLANDS NORTH OF TIMUR. 125 

black, frizzled-liaired people, allied to the inhabitants 
of Timur. The bloody practice of " head-hnnting " 
still exists among them. North of Timur is Kissa, 
the most important island in this part of the archi- 
pelago. In the early part of the present century this 
was the seat of a Dutch residency. It is a low island, 
and the rice and maize consumed by its inhabitants 
are chiefly imported from Wetta. Its people, how- 
ever carry on a very considerable trade with the sur- 
rounding islands, and are said to be far in advance 
of the natives of Amboina in point of industry. 
Southeast of Kissa lies Letti, for the most part high 
and hilly, but level near the sea. Kloff ^' describes 
the natives as tall and well formed, and having light- 
brown complexions. The men wear no other dress 
than a piece of cloth wrapped around the waist. The 
women sometimes wear, in addition to this dress, a 
Icabaya, open in front. Polygamy is not found, and 
adultery is punishable with death or slavery. When 
the Dutch occupied these islands, they induced the 
natives to change these sentences into exile to the 
Banda Islands, where men Avere needed to cultivate 
the nutmeg-trees. Neither Mohammedanism nor Hin- 
duism has been introduced into these islands ; they 
only pay homage to an image of human shape placed 
on a heap of stones that has been raised under a large 
tree near the centre of the village. When a marriage 
or death, or any remarkable event occurs, a large hog 
or buffalo, which has been kept and fattened for the 
23urpose, is slaughtered. They are especially anxious 

* " Voyage of the Dourga in 1825 and 1826," by Captain Kloff, trans- 
lated by G. W. Earl. 



126 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

to obtain elepliants' teeth, and lioarcl tliem up as tlie 
choicest treasures. 

The morning after leaving Dilli, Roma appeared 
on our starboard hand. It is very high and moun- 
tainous. In 1823 it suffered very severely from 
a violent hurricane, which also caused a frightful de- 
struction on Letti. On the latter island the cocoa- 
nut trees were levelled to the ground over consider- 
able areas. This disaster was followed by a drought, 
which destroyed all their crops, and produced great 
mortality among the cattle, through lack of food. 
The hurricane also caused the bees to desert the 
island for a time — a serious loss to the inhabitants, 
as wax and honey are among their chief exports. 
These are taken to the Arru Islands, and thence to 
Macassar and Amboina. When a chief dies, his 
wife takes his place in the council, a privilege rarely 
granted to a woman among these Eastern nations. 
East of Letti is Lakor, a dry coral bank, raised twen- 
ty feet above the sea. 

Damma soon after came into view. It is also high 
and mountainous, and has a lofty volcanic peak at 
its northeastern extremity. In 1825 it was pouring 
forth great quantities of gas. At its foot is a sul- 
phur-spring, such as exist at many places in Java and 
Celebes, in the immediate vicinity of existing volcan- 
ic action. The doctor of Captain Kloff^s ship, the 
Dourga, sent some of the crew to bathe in this spring, 
and he states that "though they were so affected 
with rheumatism as to be not only unfit for duty but 
in a state of great misery, the use of this water con- 
tributed greatly to the improvement of their health." 



DAMMA, BABA, AND TIMUR-LAIJT. 127 

Springs of tliis kind are found in the district of 
Pekalongan, west of Mount Prau, and are frequented 
by many foreigners, but I never lieard tliat any re- 
markable cure lias ever been effected by tlie use 
of tkeir waters. The nutmeg-tree grows wild on 
Damma, and the canari also thrives here. Thirty 
years after the Dutch deserted this island, the 
whole population were found to have completely re- 
lapsed into barbarism, but some of the natives of 
Moa, Letti, Roma, and Kissa, continue to be Chris- 
tians, and five or six native schoolmasters are now 
located among those islands. Southeast of Damma 
lies Baba. Its people have the odd custom of rub- 
bing lime into their hair, even from infancy. An 
English vessel that was trading here was boarded by 
these wild natives, and all her crew were butchered. 
Another vessel suffered a like fate at Timur-laut, that 
is, " Timur lying to seaward," an island about one 
hundred miles long, and one-third as wide in its 
broadest part. It is customary here for each family 
to preserve the head of one of their ancestors in their 
dwelling, and, as if to remind them all of his valorous 
deeds and their own mortality, this ghastly skull is 
placed on a scaffold opposite the entrance. When a 
young woman marries, each ankle is adorned with 
heavy copper rings, "to give forth music as she 
walks." Their war customs are like those of the 
Ceramese. It is said that among the mountains of 
this island a black, frizzled-haired people exist. If 
this should prove true, they will probably be found 
to be like the inhabitants of Timur and Ombay, and 
not referable to the Papuan type. The inhabitants 



128 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

of all tliese islands are constantly separated by petty 
fends, or carrying on an open warfare witli eacL. 
otter. 

We were now fully in tlie Banda Sea, and on the 
2 8 til of June tlie summit of tlie Gunong Aj)i, or 
" Burning Mountain" of tliat group, appeared above 
the horizon, but, as I afterward revisited these beau- 
tiful islands, a description of them is deferred to a 
future page. As we steamed away from the Bandas, 
we passed out of the region of continuous dry weather 
and began to enter one where the wet and dry sea- 
sons are just opposite to what they are in all the 
wide area extending from the middle part of Suma- 
tra to the eastern end of Timur, including the south- 
ern half of Borneo and the southern peninsulas of 
Celebes. In all that region the eastern monsoon 
brings dry weather, though occasional showers may 
occur; but at Amboina, and on the south coast of 
Ceram and Burn, this same wind bears along clouds 
that pour down almost incessant floods. At Am- 
boina I was assured that sometimes it rained for two 
weehs at a time, without apparently stopping for five 
minutes, and from what I exj)erienced myself I can 
readily believe that such a phenomenon is not of rare 
occurrence. 

In the northern part of Celebes, at Ternate, and in 
the northern |)art of Gillolo, and the islands between 
it and New Guinea, and also on the shores of the 
western part of that great island, the wet and dry 
seasons are not v\^ell defined. This exceptional area 
is mostly included within the parallels of latitude two 
degrees north and two degrees south of the equator. 



MONSOONS OF THE JAVA AND CHINA SEAS. 129 

Nortt. of it tlie wind at tliis time of year is from 
tlie southwest, instead of from tlie southeast. TMs 
dry southeast monsoon "bends round Borneo, and be- 
comes the southwest monsoon of the China Sea, sup- 
plying abundant rains to the northern parts of Borneo 
and the Philippines. It has its origin near Australia, 
and thence it pushes its way first toward the north- 
west and then toward the northeast across the whole 
Philippine group. It appears in Timur in March, 
and reaches the southern part of the China Sea in 
May. 



CHAPTER V 



AMBOIlSrA. 



tTune '2^th. — We are tMs morning appro acMng 
Amboina, the goal of my long journey, and tlie most 
important of tlie Spice Islands. Amboina is botli tlie 
name of the island and its chief city. In form the 
island is nearly elliptical, and a deep, narrow bay, 
fourteen miles long, almost divides it longitudinally 
into two unequal parts. That on the west, which 
forms the main body of the island, is called Hitu ; and 
that on the east Laitimur, which in Malay means 
" the eastern leaf." Both are composed of high hills 
which rise up so abruptly from the sea that, though 
this bay for one-third of its length is nearly four 
miles wide, yet it perfectly resembles a frith or broad 
river. Along the shores are many little bays where 
praus are seen at anchor, and on the beaches are 
small groves of the cocoa-nut palm, which furnish 
food and shade to the natives dwelling in the rude 
huts beneath them. Higher up the hill-sides, large, 
open areas are seen covered with a tall, coarse grass ; 
but the richly-cultivated fields on the flanks of the 
mountains in Java nowhere appear. These grassy 
hill-sides are the favorite burial-places with the 




A CHINESE TOMB. 



r- 131 



From a photograph. 



EVERY HILL A VOLCANO. 131 

CMnese, for they rarely or never carry back tlie bones 
of their friends to tlie sacred soil of tlie Celestial Land 
from these islands as they do from California. Such 
graves are always horseshoe-shaped, just as in China, 
and their white walls make very conspicuous objects 
on the green hill-sides. Above the open areas, in the 
wooded regions, we notice a few places filled with 
small trees that have a peculiar bright-green foliage. 
Those are the gardens of clove-trees which have made 
this island so famous throughout the world. 

It is now the rainy season here, and thick rain- 
clouds at first completely enshrouded us ; but as we 
passed up the bay they slowly broke away, and re- 
vealed on either hand high hills and mountains, 
which, on the Hitu side, began to assume a most 
wonderful appearance. The strong easterly wind 
pushed away the thick, white clouds from the ex- 
posed sides of all these elevations, and caused them 
to trail ofi" to the west like smoke from hundreds of 
railroad engines, until every separate peak appeared 
to have become an active volcano that was continu- 
ally pouring out dense volumes of white, opaque gas ; 
and as these hills rose tier above tier to high, dark 
mountains which formed the background, the whole 
scene was most awe-inspiring, especially in this land 
where eruptions and earthquakes are frequent, and 
only a comparatively thin crust separates one from 
the earth's internal fires. 

Near the mouth of the bay the water is very deep, 
but eight or nine miles within it is sufficiently shal- 
low for an anchorage. Here also the hills on the 
east or Laitimur side are separated from the beach by 



132 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

a triangular, level area, about a paal * long, and on 
tMs lias been built tlie city of " Amboina " or " Am- 
bon," in tlie native language. Viewed from tlie an- 
cborage, tbe city has a pleasing appearance, its streets 
being broad, straight, and well sliaded. About balf 
way from its southern end is Fort ISFieuw Victoria. 
Landing at a quay we passed tlirougb tbis old strong- 
hold out into a pretty lawn, wMcb is surrounded by 
the Societeit, or Club-House, and the residences of 
officials and merchants. The total population of the 
city is about fourteen thousand. Of these, seven 
hundred are Europeans, three hundred Chinese, and 
four hundred Arabs. The others are natives. The 
entire population of the island is about thirty-two 
thousand. Like all the cities and larger settlements 
in the Dutch possessions, Amboina is divided into a 
native Icampong or quarter, a Chinese hampong, and a 
quarter where foreigners reside. The natives are di- 
rectly under the control of a rajah or prince, and he, 
in turn, is responsible to a Dutch assistant resident. 
In a similar manner the Chinese are subject to a 
" Captain China," who, in the larger cities, has one 
or more assistants or " lieutenants." He, likewise, 
must report himself to the assistant resident. In this 
way each separate people is immediately ruled by 
officers chosen from its own nation, and consequently 
of the same views and prejudices. Justice is thus more 
perfectly administered, and the hostile feelings which 
each of these bigoted Eastern nations always enter- 
tains against every other are thus completely avoided. 

* A paal, the unit of measure on land in the East Indian Archipelago, 
is fifteen sixteenths of a statute mile. 



A PLEASANT HOME. ;J^33 

On leaving Batavia, Cores cle Vries &; Co., wlio 
wlio then owned all tlie mail-steamers in the Nether- 
lands India, kindly gave me a letter of credit so that 
I might draw on their agents from place to place, and 
wholly avoid the trouble and danger of carrying any 
considerable sum with me. This letter further rec- 
ommended me to the kind attention of all their em- 
ployes, and Mr. Var Marie, their agent at this place, 
at once said that I must make his house my home 
while I remained in that part of the archipelago; and 
this unexpected and very generous invitation was 
still more acceptable, as both he and his good lady 
spoke English. A chamber was assigned me, and a 
large room in an adjoining out-building, where I could 
store my collections and pack them up for their long 
transit to America ; and thus I was ready to com- 
mence my allotted work without the least delay. I 
then called on His Excellency the Governor of the 
Spice Islands, who received me in the most cordial 
manner, and said that boats, coolies, and whatever 
other assistance I might need, would be immediately 
ordered whenever I wished. 

Amboina has long been famous for its shells, and 
the Dutch officials have been accustomed for years to 
purchase very considerable quantities as presents for 
their friends in Europe. The natives, therefore, are in 
the habit of gathering them for sale, and a few have 
become extensive traders in these beautiful objects. 
It was soon noised abroad that a foreigner had come 
from a land even farther away than " OUanda," as 
they call Holland, solely for the purpose of purchas- 
ing shells ; and immediately, to my, great delight, bas- 



134 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

ketful after basketftil of tlie species tliat I liad al- 
ways regarded as tlie rarest and most valuable began 
to appear, every native being anxious to dispose of Ms 
lot before Ms fellows, and thus obtain a share of tlie 
envied sMning coin, wMcli I was careful to display to 
tlieir gloating eyes before I should say I had bought 
all I desired. Competition, here as elsewhere, had a 
wonderfully depressing effect on the jDrice of their com- 
modities, judging from what they asked at first and 
what they were finally willing to take. The trade, 
however, became more brisk day after day, and some 
natives came from long distances partly to sell their 
shells and partly to see whether " that man " could be 
sane who had come so far and was spending, accord- 
ing to their ideas, so much money for shells. At first 
I bought them by the basketful, until all the more 
common species had been obtained, and then I showed 
the natives the figures in Rumphius's " Eariteit Ka- 
mer " of those species I still wished to secure, and at 
the same time offered them an extra price for others 
not represented in that comprehensive work. One 
species I was particularly anxious to secure ali\'e. It 
was the pearly nautilus. The shell has always been 
common, but the animal has seldom been described. 
The first was found at this place, and a description 
and drawing were given by Rumphius. Afterward 
a dissection and drawing were given by Professor 
Owen, of the British Museum, and his monograph 
probably contains the most complete anatomical de- 
scription that has. ever been made of any animal 
from a single specimen. He worked, as he himself 
described it to me, with a dissecting-knife in one hand 



A NAUTILUS IS SECURED. I35 

and a pencil in tlie otlier. So little escaped his pen 
and pencil, that very little information has been add- 
ed by later dissections. I was so anxious to secure 
one of these rare animals, that I felt that, if I should 
obtain one and a few more common species, I could 
feel that my long journey had been far from fruitless. 
Only the second day after my arrival, to my inex- 
pressible delight, a native brought me one still living. 
Seeing how highly I j)rized it, he began by asking 
ten guilders (four Mexican dollars) for it, but finally 
concluded to part with it for two guilders (less than 
one Mexican dollar), though I should certainly have 
paid him fifty if I could not have obtained it for a 
less price. It had been taken in this way : the na- 
tives throughout the archipelago rarely fish with a 
hook and line as we do, but, where the water is too 
deep to build a weii^, they use instead a hubu^ or bar- 
rel of open basket-work of bamboo. Each end of 
this barrel is an inverted cone, with a small o]3ening 
at its apex. Pieces of fish and other bait are sus- 
pended from within, and the huhio is then sunk on 
the clear patches of sand on a coral reef, or more com- 
monly out where the water is from twenty to fifty 
fathoms deep. No line is attached to those on the 
reefs, but they are taken up with a gaff. Those 
in deep water are buoyed by a cord and a long bam- 
boo, to one end of which a stick is fastened in a ver- 
tical position, and to this is attached a piece of palm- 
leaf for a flag, to make it more conspicuous. In this 
case it happened that one, of these huhus was washed 
off into deeper water than usual, and the nautilus 
chanced to crawl through the opening in one of the 



136 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

cones to get at tlie "bait witLin. If tlie opening liad 
not been mucli larger tlian nsaal, it could not possi- 
bly have got in. It was at once placed in a can con- 
taining strong arrack. I tlien offered twice as mncli 
for a duplicate specimen, and liundreds of natives 
tried and tried, but in vain, to procure another during 
the five months I was in those seas. They are so rare 
even there, that a gentleman, who had made large col- 
lections of shells, assured me that I ought not to expect 
to obtain another if I were to remain at Amboina 
three years. Rumphius, who usually is remarkably 
accurate in his descriptions of the habits of the mol- 
lusks he figures, says it sometimes swims on the sea ; 
but this statement he probably received from the na- 
tives, who made such a mistake because many empty 
shells are frequently found floating on the ocean. 
When the animal dies and becomes separated from 
the shell, the latter rises to the surface of the sea on 
account of the air or other gas contained in the 
chambers. It is then swept away by the Avind and 
tide to the shore of a neighboring island. When the 
natives are questioned as to where these shells come 
from, they invariably reply, " The sea ; " and as to 
where the animal lives, they merely answer, " J9«/«m," 
" In the deep." The dead shells are so abundant on 
these islands, that they can be purchased in any quan- 
tity at from four to ten cents apiece. 

My first excursion from the city of Amboina was 
with a gentleman to a large cocoa-garden, which he 
had lately planted on the Ligh hills on the Hitu side. 
A nice boat or oranghai — ^literally, " a good fellow " 
— took us over the bay to the little village of Ruma 



VISIT TO A COCOA PLANTATION. 13Y 

Tiga, or " Three Houses." Tlie boatmen were gayly 
dressed in wMte trousers with red trimmings, and had 
red handkerchiefs tied round their heads. A small 
gong and a tifct or drum, made by tightly stretching 
a |)iece of the hide of a wild deer over the end of a 
short, hollow log, gave forth a rude, wild music, and 
at least served to aid the boatmen in keeping time as 
they rowed. Occasionally, to break the monotony of 
their labor, they sang a low, plaintive song. In- 
stead of steering straight for the point which we 
wished to arrive at on the opposite side of the bay, 
our helmsman kept the boat so near the shore that 
we really passed round the head of the bay, twice as 
far as it would have been in a right line. This mode 
of hassar steering, or, as the sailors express it in our 
language, " hugging the shore," I afterward found was 
the one universally adopted in all this part of the 
archipelago. When we landed, I had the pleasure to 
find, just beneath low-water level, hundreds of black 
sea-urchins, with needle-like spines nearly a foot long, 
and so extremely sharp and brittle, that it was very 
difficult to get the animals out of the little cavities in 
the rocks where they had anchored themselves fast 
with their many suckers. Near by, the villagers were 
busy boiling down the sap of the sagaru-palm for the 
sugar it contains. According to my taste it is much 
like maple-sugar. Up to the time that Europeans 
first came to the East, this was the only kind of sugar 
known to the natives, and large quantities of it are 
still consumed among the islands here in the eastern 
part of the archipelago. 

From the beach, a narrow footpath led through 



138 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

a grove of palm-trees into a tMck forest, and tlien 
zigzagged up a steep hill-side, "until it reached a 
small plateau. Here were tlie young cocoa-trees, 
filled witL. their long, red, cucumber-like fruit. The 
original forest had been felled and burned, and these 
trees had been planted in its place. Almost the only 
difficulty in cultivating the cocoa-tree here is in re- 
moving the grass and small shrubs which are con- 
tinually springing wp ; yet the natives are all so idle 
and untrustworthy that a gentleman must frequent- 
ly inspect his garden himself, if he expects it to yield 
a fair return. This tree,* the Tlieobroma cacao^ Lin., 
is not a native of the East. It was discovered by 
the Spaniards in Mexico during the conquest of that 
country by Cortez. From Mexico they took it to 
their provinces in South America and the West In- 
dia Islands. At present it is cultivated in Trinidad, 
and in Guiana and Brazil. It probably thrives as 
well here as in Mexico, and is now completely sup- 
planting the less profitable clove-tree. 

The chief article of food of the natives working 
in this garden is our own yellow Indian corn, an- 
other exotic, also introduced into the East by Euro- 
peans. It is now raised in every part of the archi- 
pelago in such quantities as to form one of the chief 
articles of food for the natives. The Dutch never 
use it, and generally think it strange that it should 

* The DiitctL name for this ti-ee and its fruit is cacao. Our word 
chocolate comes from the Spanish " chocolate," which was a mixture 
of the fruit of this tree with Indian corn. These were grovmd up 
together, and some honey was usually added. After sugar-cane was 
introduced, that was also added to neutralize the bitter qualities of the 
cocoa. 



HUNTING IN THE TROPICS. 139 

be made into bread for tlie very nicest tables in 
our land. I never knew tlie natives to grind it or 
pound it. They are accustomed to roast it on tlie ear 
after the kernels have become quite hard and yellow. 
Our house in this tropical garden was merely a 
bamboo hut, with a broad veranda, which afforded us 
an ample shelter from the pouring rains and scorch- 
ing sunshine. I had been careful to take along my 
fowling-piece, and at once I commenced a rambling 
hunt through the adjoining forest. Large flocks of 
small birds, much like our blackbird, were hovering 
about, but they so invariably chose to alight only on 
the tops of the tallest trees, that I was a long time 
securing half a dozen specimens, for at every shot 
they would select another distant tree-top, and give 
me a long walk over tangled roots and fallen trees 
in the dense, almost gloomy, jungle. As evening 
came on, small green parrots uttered their shrill, 
deafening screams, as they darted to and fro through 
the thick foliage. A few of these also entered my 
game-bag. 

In these tropical lands, when the sun sets, it is 
high time for the hunter to forsake his fascinating 
sport and hurry home. There is no long, fading 
twilight, but darkness presses closely on the foot- 
steps of retreating day, and at once it is night. On 
my return, my friend remarked in the coolest manner 
that I had secured us both a good supper ; and be- 
fore I had recovered from my shock at such a sug- 
gestion, the cook had torn out a large handful of 
rich feathers from the skins, and all were spoiled for 
my collection ; however, I consoled myself with the 



140 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

tliouglit that it did not fall to- tlie good lot of every 
iLunter to live in tlie midst of siicli a wondrous vege- 
tation and feast on parrots. In tlie evening, a fall 
moon shed "broad oscillating bands of silver light 
through the large polished leaves of the bananas 
around our dwelling, as they slowly waved to and 
fro in the cool, refreshing breeze. Then the low 
cooing of doves came up out of the dark forest, and 
the tree-toads piped out their long, shrill notes. 
That universal pest, the mosquito, was also there, 
singing his same bloodthirsty tune in our ears. Our 
beds were perched on poles, high above the floor of 
the hut, that we might avoid such unpleasant bed- 
fellows as large snakes, which are very common and 
most unceremonious visitors. That night we were 
disturbed but once, and then by a loud rattling of iron 
pots and a general crashing of crockery ; instantly 
I awoke with an indefinite apprehension that we 
were experiencing one of the frightful earthquakes 
which my friend had been vividly picturing before 
we retired. The natives set up a loud hooting and 
shouting, and finally the cause of the whole disturb- 
ance was found to be a lean, hungry dog that was 
attempting to satisfy his appetite on what remained 
of our parrot-stew. 

My chief object on this excursion was to collect 
insects ; and among some white-leaved shrubs, near 
the shore, I found many magnificent specimens of a 
very large, richly-colored Papilio. The general color 
of the upper surface of its wings was a blue-black, 
and beneath were large patches of bright red. An- 
other was a blue-black above, with large spots of 



MODE OF TRAVELLING IN THE SPICE ISLANDS. 141 

briglit blue. Tlie wings of tliese "butterflies expand 
five or six inches, and tliey seem almost like small 
birds as they flit by. 

It was my desire not only to obtain the same 
shells that Rumphius figures, but to procure them 
from the same points and bays, so that there could be 
no doubt about the identity of my specimens with 
his drawings. I therefore j)roposed to travel along all 
the shores of Amboina and the neighboring islands, 
and trade with the natives of every village, so as to be 
sure of the localities myself, and, moreover, get speci- 
mens of all the species alive, and thus have ample 
material for studying their anatomy. I now realized 
the value of the letter with which His Excellency 
the Governor-G-eneral had honored me at Batavia. 
I had only to apply to the assistant resident, and 
he at once kindly ordered a boat and coolies for me 
at the same rate as if they were employed by the 
government, which was frequently less than half of 
what I should have been obliged to pay if I had 
hired them myself; and besides, many times I could 
not have obtained boats nor coolies at any price ; 
and when the Resident ordered them to come at a 
certain hour, I always found them ready. 

My first excursion along the shores of the island 
was on the north coast of Hitu. Two servants ac- 
companied me, to aid in arranging the shells, and 
carrying bottles of alcohol to contain the animals. 
From the city of Amboina, a boat took us over the 
bay to Ruma Tiga, where several coolies were wait- 
ing with a " chair " to carry me over the high hills 
to the opposite shore. This " chair," or palanquin, is 



142 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

merely a common arm-cliair, witt. a bamboo fastened 
on eacli side. A liglit roof and curtains on the sides 
keep out tbe rain or bot sunsbine. Usually eigbt 
or more coolies are detailed to eacb cbair, so tbat one- 
balf may relieve tbe otbers every few moments. Tbe 
motion is mucb like tbat on borseback, wben tbe 
borse is urged into a burried walk, and is neitber 
extremely unpleasant nor so very deligbtfal as some 
^vriters wbo bave visited tbese islands bave described 
it. In Cbina, wbere only two coolies carry a cbair, tbe 
motion is far more regular and agreeable. Tbis is 
tbe only mode of travelling in all tbe islands wbere 
borses bave not been introduced, and wbere all tbe 
so-called roads are mere narrow footpatbs, except in 
tbe villages. 

From tbe sbore we climbed two bills, and on 
tbeir crests passed tbrougb gardens of cocoa-trees.""^* 
Tbe road tben was bordered on eitber side witb 
rows of pine-apples, Ananassa sativa, a tbird exotic 
from tropical America. It tbrives so well in every 
part of tbe arcbipelago, witbout tbe sligbtest care, 
tbat it is very difficult to realize tbat it is not an 
indigenous plant. Tbe native names all point out 
its origin. Tbe Malays and Javanese call it nanas, 
wbicb is merely a corruption of tbe Portuguese ana- 
nassa. In Celebes it is sometimes csiWedi. pandang, a 
corruption oi pandanus, from tbe marked similarity 

* This name must not be confounded with that of the cocoa-nut- 
tree, or Oocos nucifera^ which is a palm. The word cocoa is supposed 
to have been derived from the Portuguese word macoco or macaco^ a 
monkey, and to have been applied to the cocoa-nut palm, from a fancied 
resemblance between the end of the shell, where the three black scars 
occur, and the face of a monkey. 



THE FOOD OF THE NATIVES. 143 

of the two fruits. In the Pliilippines it is generally 
called pina, tlie Spanish word for pine-cone, whicli 
has the same origin as onr name pine-apple. Piiia 
is also the name of a cloth of great strength and 
durability, made by the natives of the Philippines, 
from the fibres of its leaves. The Malays, on the 
contrary, seldom or never make any such use of it, 
though it grows so abundantly in many places that 
any quantity of its leaves could be obtained for the 
simple trouble of gathering them. The fruit raised 
here is generally regarded as inferior to that grown 
in the West Indies, and the Dutch consider the va- 
riety known as " the West Indian ananas," that is, one 
that has been recently introduced, as the best. The 
finest specimens of this fruit are raised in the interior 
of Sumatra and on the islands about Singa23ore, and 
great quantities are exposed for sale in the market at 
that city. 

From the crest of the first range of hills we de- 
scended to a deep ravine, and crossed a bridge thrown 
over a foaming torrent. This bridge, like most the 
Dutch possessions, was covered with a roof, but left 
open on the sides. The object of the roof and its 
projecting eaves is to keep the boards and planks 
beneath dry, for whenever they are frequently soaked 
vdth rain they quickly decay in this tropical climate. 
The coolies here lunched on smoked fish and sago- 
cake, their common fare, and quenched their thirst 
with draughts from the rapid stream. Their rag- 
ged clothing and uncombed hair made them appear 
strangely out of keeping with the luxuriant vegeta- 
tion surrounding us. Crossing another high range, 



144 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

we caiiglit a view of tlie blue ocean, and soon de- 
scended to tHe village of Hitu-lama, " Old Hitu." 
Tlie raj all received me most kindly into Ms house, 
and assigned me a chamber. Large numbers of cMl- 
dren quickly gathered, and the rajah explained to 
them that I had come to buy shells, insects, and every 
curious thing they might bring. As it was high 
water, and good shells could only be found at low 
tide, I asked them to search for lizards, and soon I 
was surprised to see them coming with a number of 
real "flying-dragons," not such impossible monsters 
as the Chinese delight to place on their temples and 
vases, but small lizards, Draco volans, each provided 
with a broad fold in the skin along either side of 
the body, analogous to that of our flying-squirrel, and 
for a similar purpose, not really for flying, but to act 
as a parachute to sustain the animal in the air, while 
it makes long leaps from branch to branch. Another 
lizard, of which they brought nearly a dozen speci- 
mens in a couple of hours, had a body about six 
inches long and a tail nearly as much longer. Know- 
ing how impossible it is to capture these agile and 
wary animals, I tried to ascertain how they succeeded 
in surprising so many, but they all refused to tell, 
apparently from superstitious motives, and to this 
day the mystery is unsolved. When these specimens 
were brought to me they were always in small joints 
of bamboo, and w^hen one esca|)ed the natives gener- 
ally refused to try to catch it in their hands. 

As the tide receded, shells began to come in ; at 
first the more common species, and rarer ones as the 
ebbing ceased. My mode of trading with these peo- 



TRADING WITH THE NATIVES. 145 

pie was extremely simple, my stock of Malay being 
very limited. A small table was placed on tbe ve- 
randa in front of the rajali's house, and I took a 
seat behind it. The natives then severally came up 
and placed their shells in a row on the table, and I 
placed opposite each shell or each lot of shells what- 
ever I was willing to give for them, and then, point- 
ing first to the money and then to the shells, remarked, 
Ini 'atau itu, " This or that," leaving them to make 
their own choice. In this way all disputing was 
avoided, and the purchasing went on rapidly. When- 
ever one man had a rare shell, and the sum I offered 
did not meet his expectations, another would be sure to 
accept it if no more was given ; then the first would 
change his mind, and thus I never failed to obtain both 
specimens. It was a pleasure that no one but a natu- 
ralist can appreciate, to see such rare and beautiful 
shells coming in alive, spotted cyprseas, marbled cones, 
long Fusi^ and Murices^ some spiny and some richly 
ornamented with varices resembling compound leaves. 
The rarest shell that I secured that day was a living 
Terehellum^ which was picked up on a coral reef be- 
fore the village, at low-tide level. Afterward I pro- 
cured another from the same place ; but so limited 
does its distribution appear to be, that I never ob- 
tained a live specimen at any other locality. 

At sunset I walked out with the rajah along the 
shore of the bay. Before us lay the great island of 
Ceram, which the rajah called, in his musical tongue, 
Oeram tana hiza^ " The great land of Ceram," for in- 
deed, to him, it was a land, that is, a continent, and 
not in any sense a ])ulo or island. The departing 

10 



146 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

sun was sinking beMnd tlie higli, jagged peaks of 
Ceram, and Ms last golden and purple rays seemed 
to waver as tkey sliot over the glassy but gently- 
undulating surface of the bay, and the broad, deeply- 
fringed leaves of the cocoa-nut palms on the beach 
took a deeper and richer hue in the glowing sun- 
light. Then a dull, heavy booming came out of a 
small Mohammedan mosque, which was picturesque- 
ly placed on a little projecting point, almost sur- 
rounded by the purple sea. This was the low roll- 
ing of a heavy drum, calling all the faithful to assem- 
ble and return thanks to their Prophet at the close 
of the departing day. The rajah then left me to 
wander along the shore alone, and enjoy the endless 
variety of the changing tints in the sea and sky while 
the daylight faded away along the western horizon. 

It was in this bay that the Dutch first cast an- 
chor in these seas, and this thought naturally car- 
ries us back to the early history of the Moluccas, so 
famous for their spices, and so coveted by almost 
every nation of Europe, as soon as enterprise and ac- 
tion began to dispel the dark clouds of ignorance and 
superstition which had enveloped the whole of the 
so-called civilized world during the middle ages. 
Antonio d'Abreu, a Portuguese captain, who came 
here from Malacca, in 1511, is generally regarded as 
the discoverer of Amboina and Banda, but Ludovico 
Barthema (Vartoma), of Bologna, after visiting Ma-" 
lacca and Pedir, in Sumatra, according to his o^vn 
account, reached this island as early as 1506, yet his 
description of the Moluccas is so faulty that Valentyn 
thinks he never came to this region, but obtained his 



EARLY EXPEDITIONS TO THE SPICE ISLANDS. 14Y 

information from tlie Javanese and Arabs, who, as 
early at least as 1322, visited tliese islands to pur- 
chase spices.^^ The Dutch first came to the East in the 
employment of the Portuguese, and in this manner 
became acquainted with its geography and its wealth. 
Their earliest expedition sailed from Holland in 1.594, 
under Houtman. His fleet first visited Bantam and 
the island of Madura. At the latter place the na- 
tives seized some of his crew, and obliged him to pay 
two thousand rix dollars to ransom them. On the 
3d of March, 1599, he arrived here off Hitu-lama. A 
serious and continual warfare then began between 
the Spanish, the Portuguese, and the Dutch, for the 
possession of the Moluccas, which lasted until 1610, 
when the Dutch became masters of these seas, and 
monopolized the lucrative trade of the nutmeg and 
the clove. The English also tried to secure this valu- 
able prize, but the Dutch finally compelled them to 

* Francis Valentyn, the author of the most comprehensive and accu- 
rate history and description of the Dutch possessions in all the East, was 
a Lutheran clergyman. He was born at Dordrecht, about the year 1660, 
In 1686 he arrived at Batavia as a minister, and having resided some time 
at Japara, near Samarang, he was transferred to Amboina, the future 
field of his ministry and literary labors. After a residence of twelve 
years in the Spice Islands, he was obliged to return home on account of 
ill-health. Having remained in Holland for eleven years, he sailed a 
second time for India in 1705. Arriving at Java, he remained on that 
island for two years, and then proceeded to the Spice Islands, where he 
resided for seven years, and in 1714 he returned again to Holland. Im-- 
mediately after his arrival he devoted himself to arranging his copious 
notes for publication. His first volume was published in 1724 ; this was 
followed by seven others, all fully illustrated, the last appearing in 1726. 
They embrace a complete description and history of aU the Dutch pos- 
sessions from the Oape of Good Hope to Japan. The date' of the death 
of this eminent man is not known, but he must have been in his sixty- 
sixth year when he finished his great work. 



14:8 TKAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

leave this part of tlie arcliipelago, and have continued 
to hold it, exce]ot for a short time in the early part 
of the present century. 

The guest-chamber of my host, the rajah, was so 
open at the eaves that a current of damp air blew 
over me all night, and I had a strong reminder of the 
Batavia fever the next day. However, I continued 
along the shore to Hila, where an assistant resident 
is stationed, whose district also includes a part of the 
neighboring coast of Ceram. In the days when the 
clove-tree was extensively cultivated in Amboina, 
this was an important place, but now it has become 
almost deserted. It is chiefly famous for its fine man- 
goes, the fruit of the Ifangifera Indica. 

The Resident here had two fine specimens of an 
enormous hermit crab, the JBirgos Tatro. The habits 
of this animal are most remarkable. Its food is the 
cocoa-nut, and, as the ripe nuts fall from the tree, it 
tears off the dry husks with its powerful claws until 
the end of the shell where the three black scars are 
found is laid bare. It then breaks the shell by 
hammering with one of its heavy claws, and the oily, 
fattening food within is obtained by means of the 
pincer-like claws attached to its hinder joints — so 
perfectly is this animal adapted to its peculiar mode 
of life. They are esteemed great delicacies after 
they have been well fed for a time, and these two 
unfortunates were destined for the table. 

A rest of a couple of days stayed the fever, and a 
boat was ordered to take me to Zyt, the next village, 
where I reaped another rich harvest of beautiful 
shells. Here I purchased many Tritons, Avhich the 



A PORTABLE FOUNTAIN. 149 

natives liad brouglit over from the neigliboriiig coast 
of Ceram. They are quite similar to the Tritons of 
the Mediterranean, which in mythological times were 
fancied to be the trumpets used by Neptune's attend- 
ants to herald the approach of the grim god, when 
he came up from the depths of the ocean, and was 
whirled by foaming steeds over its placid surface. 
The next village we visited was completely de- 
serted, except by the rajah and his family. The 
cause of this strange exodus was some misunder- 
standing between the rajah and his people ; and as 
the Dutch Government claims the right to appoint 
each native prince, and had refused to remove this 
rajah, all his people had deserted their homes and 
moved off to the various neighboring Icampongs, a 
quiet and probably an effective mode of remon- 
strance. Near all these villages the beaches are 
lined with cocoa-nut j)alms, and this is frequently 
the only indication that you are approaching a ham- 
pong^ unless, as occasionally happens, a thin column 
of smoke is observed slowly rising from out the tall 
tree-tops. When I wished to take water with me in 
our canoe, I naturally asked the rajah if he could 
provide us with a bottle, but he only smiled to think 
I could be so unaccustomed to tropical life, and 
ordered a servant to climb one of the cocoa-nut palms 
above us, and cut off some of its clusters of large 
green fruit. These we could carry anywhere, and 
open when we pleased, and a few strokes with a 
heavy cleaver at once furnished us with a sparkling 
fountain. 

At Assilulu, the next village, I found the rajah 



150 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

living in sucli style as I liad aWays fancied a rich 
Eastern prince enjoyed. His house was in the centre 
of a large village, and located on the side of a steep 
hill. It covered three large terraces, and, Avhen vievred' 
from the landing below, appeared like a temple. At 
this place, besides many rare shells, I purchased 
several large cassowary-eggs, which had been brought 
over from Ceram. They are about as long as ostrich- 
eggs, but somewhat less in diameter, and of a green 
color. The bird itself belongs to the ostrich family, 
its feathers being imperfectly developed and separate 
from each other, and suitable only to aid it to run. 
One species has a spine on each wing to enable it 
to defend itself, but the usual mode of attack is 
by striking with the beak. In size it is twice as 
large as a full-grown turkey. It is not found wild 
on any island west of Ceram, and those reported from 
Java were all undoubtedly canied there from this 
part of the archipelago. Here also I bought of the 
rajah a number of superb skulls of the babirusa, 
Babirusa alfurus, literally "the hog-deer," a name 
well chosen, for its long tusks would at once suggest 
to these natives the antlers of the deer, the only 
other wild animal of any considerable. size found on 
these islands. These skulls came from Burn, the 
eastern limit of this remarkable species of hog. 

For some time one of my servants kept alluding 
to several wonderful and most valuable curiosities 
which this wealthy rajah was so fortunate as to pos- 
sess — curiosities indeed, according to his glowing de- 
scriptions, compared to the shells I was continually 
buying. At last I asked him to say to the rajah. 



JEWELS FROM THE HEADS OF WILD BOARS. 151 

that I would be greatly obliged to him if he could 
show me such rare wonders, being careful not to add, 
that possibly I should like to purchase one or more ; 
for I had a strong suspicion that the rajah had offered 
to give him all over a certain sum that I might pay 
for them, if he could induce me to purchase them. 
In these Eastern lands, when you send a servant to 
buy any thing, you have the unpleasant certainty 
in your mind, that a large part of " the price " will 
certainly lodge in his pocket ; however, if you go to 
purchase yourself, such exorbitant prices will be de- 
manded, that you will either come away without the 
article you need, or have the unpleasant reflection 
afterward that you have been cheated worse than if 
you had sent your servant and allowed him to levy 
his black-mail. 

As I had anticipated, the rajah was not loath to 
show me his treasures. . They were merely half a dozen 
glass rings, evidently made by cutting off a piece of a 
glass rod nine or ten inches long, and half an inch in 
diameter. This piece, having been heated, was bent 
into a ring and the two ends united by fusion. In- 
stead of expressing surprise and delight, as all who 
were looking on seemed to expect, I coolly began ex- 
plaining to the rajah what they were and how they 
were made. A look of surprise and incredulity ap- 
peared on the faces of all, and the rajah at once, in a 
most solemn manner, averred that so far from their 
being the work of man, they had been taken out of 
the heads of snakes and wild boars! Despite the 
dignified bearing the occasion was supposed to de- 
mand, I could not refrain from a smile as I remarked 



152 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

ttat I had seen many lieads of tliose animals myself, 
but never before bad I beard tbat tbey carried sucb 
circular jewels in tbeir brains. " Have you ever seen 
one of tbese taken out yourself? " I asked. " Ob, no ! 
Tbey come from Tana Ceram (tbe land or continent 
of Ceram)." All wbo were listening, now fearing 
tbat tbeir rajab migbt be worsted in tbe discussion, 
and being ready on every occasion to sbow tbat 
tbey were loyal subjects, abruptly ended tbe argu- 
ment by tbe imqualiiied assertion tbat every tbing 
was exactly as tbe rajab bad said; and, as I was bis 
guest, I cbanged tbe conversation to anotber topic. 
Wben I returned to tbe city of Amboina, I looked at 
once in tbe " Rariteit Kamer," confident tbat Rumpbius 
would explain tbis remarkable and, as I afterward 
found, common belief; for, tbougb tbe rajab probably 
did not believe wbat be said, bis credulous subjects 
doubtless never tbougbt before of calling in question 
sucb a generally-accepted notion ; sucb a query would, 
in tbeir view, bave indicated a weak instead of an in- 
quiring mind. Tbis is one of tbe obstacles in tbe 
way of advancement among tbese people. Humpbius 
says tbat many rings were brougbt by tbe Portuguese 
and sold to tbe natives, wbo prize tbem very bigbly. 
Tbis accounted for tbeir origin ; and afterward, wben 
I came to travel over tbe empire of Cbina, and no- 
ticed bow tbat people value similar rings of jade 
(nepluite), and remembered tbat tbe coast of Ce- 
ram, opposite Assilulu, was once frequented by tbe 
people of tbat empire, wbo came to purcbase cloves 
and nutmegs, it occurred to me tbat possibly it was 
from tbem tbat tbe Amboinese bad learned to 



THE CLOVE-TEEE. I53 

place so higli a value on snct. simple objects, and 
hacl obtained their first specimens. Java is perliaps 
tlie only island in tlie arcliipelago wliere sucli orna- 
ments conld liave been made by the natives, but I do 
not find that they are especially |)rized there, or 
that they have been dug up with other relics of pre- 
vious ages. 

Off this coast lie three islands, the Three Broth- 
ers, and on their shores the natives found a number 
of rare shells. In the streets of the village consid- 
erable quantities of cloves that had been gathered on 
the neighboring hill-sides were exposed to the sun on 
mats between the frequent showers, but the culture 
of that spice has been so neglected of late years, that 
this was the only place where I saw the fruit in all 
the Moluccas. The clove-tree (^CaropJiyllus aromati- 
Gus) belongs to the order of myrtles, which also in- 
cludes the pomegranate, the guava, and the rose- 
apple. The trunk of the full-grown tree is from eight 
to twelve inches in diameter, and occasionally much 
more. Its topmost branches are usually forty or fifty 
feet from the ground, though I have seen a tree not 
larger than a cherry-tree fully loaded with fruit. It 
was originally confined to the five islands off the west 
coast of Gilolo, which then comprised the whole 
group known as " the Moluccas," a name that has 
since been extended to Burn, Amboina, and the other 
islands off the south coast of Ceram, where the clove 
has been introduced and cultivated within a com- 
paratively late period. On those five islands it begins 
to bear in its seventh or eighth year, and sometimes 
continues to yield until it has reached an age of nearly 



154 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

one hundred and fifty years ; tlie trees, therefore, are 
of very diiferent sizes. Here at Amboina it is not 
expected to bear fruit before its twelftli or fifteenth 
year, and to cease yielding when it is seventy-five 
years old. Its limited distribution has always at- 
tracted attention, and Rumphius, who describes it as 
" the most beautiful, the most elegant, and the most 
precious of all known trees," remarks : " Hence it ap- 
pears that the Great Disposer of things in His wis- 
dom, allotting His gifts to the several regions of the 
world, placed cloves in the kingdom of the Moluccas, 
beyond which, by no human industry, can they be 
propagated or perfectly cultivated." In the last ob- 
servation, however, he was mistaken, for since his 
time it has been successfully introduced into the isl- 
and of Penang, in the Strait of Malacca, and Suma- 
tra, Bourbon, Zanzibar, and the coast of , Guiana and 
the West India Islands. The clove is the flower-bud, 
and grows in clusters at the ends of the twigs. The 
annual yield of a good tree is about four pounds and 
a half, and the yearly crop on Amboina, Haruku, 
Saparua, and Nusalaut, the only islands where the 
tree is now cultivated, is 350,000 Amsterdam pounds.'^" 
It is, however, extremely variable and uncertain — for 
example, in 1846 it was 869,727 Amsterdam pounds, 
but in 1849 it was only 89,923, or little more than 
one-tenth of what it was three years before. Piga- 
fetta informs us that, when the Spanish first came to 
the Moluccas, there were no restrictions on the cul- 
ture or sale of the clove. The annual crop at that 

* According to official statements, the total yield from 1675 to 1854: 
was 100,034,036 Amsterdam pounds. 



MODE OF GATHERING CLOVES. 155 

time, 1521, according to tlie same authority, reacted 
the enormous quantity of 6,000 baliars, 3,540,000 
pounds of " uncleaned," and 4,000 baliars, 2,360,000 
pounds of " cleaned " cloves, about seventeen times 
tlie quantity obtained at tlie present time. Though 
this statement at first appears incredible, it is strength- 
ened by the fact that the tvs^o ships of Magellan's 
fleet that reached Tidore, one of the Spice Islands, 
were filled with cloves during a stay of only twenty- 
four days. When the buds are young they are 
nearly white, afterward they change to a light green, 
and finally to a bright red, when they must at once 
be gathered, which is done by picking them by hand, 
or beating them off with bamboos on to cloths spread 
beneath the trees. They are then simply dried in 
the sun, and are ready for the market. In drying, 
their color is changed from red to black, the condi- 
tion in which we see them. They are gathered twice 
a year, at about this time, in June, and again in the 
last of December. The leaves, bark, and young 
twigs also have some peculiar aroma, and at Zanzibar 
the stems of the buds are also gathered and find a 
ready sale. The favorite locations of this tree are 
the high hill-sides, and it is said that it does not 
thrive well on low lands, where the loam is fine and 
heavy. The soil best adapted to it appears to be a 
loose sandy loam. In its original liabitat it grows 
chiefly on volcanic soil, but in Amboina and the other 
islands, where it is now cultivated, it has been found 
to flourish well on loams formed by the disintegra- 
tion of recent sandstone and secondary rocks. The 
native name for this fruit is cheiiki^ perhaps a corrup- 



156 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

tion of tlie CMnese ikeng-hi, " odoriferous nails." * 
The Dutcli name for clove is hruid-nagel, " lierl3-nail," 
and for tlie trees nagelen-hoomen, " nail-trees." Our 
own name clove comes from tlie Sj)anisli clavo (Latin 
cl(M)us)^ a nail, wliicli lias also been given tliem on ac- 
count of tlie similarity of these buds to nails. 

Altliougli cloves form a favorite condiment among 
all nations, tlie natives of these islands where they 
grow never eat them in any form, and we have no 
reason to suppose they ever did. The only purpose 
for which the Amboinese use them, so far as I am 
aware, is to prepare neat models of their praus and 
Bamboo huts, by running small wire through the 
buds before they are dried. The Dutch purchase 
and send to Europe so many of these models, that 
almost every ethnological museum contains some 
specimens of this skilful workmanship. The clove 
probably came into use originally by accident, and I 
believe the first people who fancied its rich aroma, 
and warm, pungent taste, were the Chinese. The 

*De Oauto, who visited these islands in 1540, says: "The Persians 
call the clove calafur^ and speaking on this matter, with permission of 
the physicians, it appears to us that the carofilum of the Latin is cor- 
rupted from the calafur of the Moors (Arabs), for they have some re- 
semblance. And as this drug passed into Europe through the hands of 
the Moors with the name calafur^ it appears the Europeans did not 
change it. The Oastilians (Spaniards) called cloves gilope, because they 
came from the island of Gilolo (probably one of the chief sources of this 
article at that time). The people of the Moluccas call them chanque. 
The Brahmin physicians first called them lavanga, but afterward gave 
them the Moorish name. Generally all nations give them a name of 
their own, as we have done ; for the first of us (the Portuguese) that 
reached these islands (the Moluccas), taking them in their hands, and ob- 
serving their resemblance to iron nails, called them cravo, by which they 
are now so well known in the world." 



HISTORY OF THE CLOVE TRADE. 157 

similarity of tlie native name to that of tlie Chinese, 
and its marked diiference, according to De Canto, 
from that of the Brahmins or Hindus, lends probabil- 
ity to this view. When the Portuguese first came to 
these islands, the Chinese, Arabs, Malays, Javanese, 
and Macassars, were all found here trading in this 
article. Of the two former nations, the Chinese were 
probably the first to reach this region, though the 
Arabs sailed up the China Sea and carried on a large 
trade with the Chinese at Canpu, a j)ort in Hangchau 
Bay, south of the present city of Shanghai, in the 
thirteenth century, or fully two hundred years be- 
fore the Portuguese and Spaniards arrived in these 
seas. 

The first notice of cloves in Europe occurs in a 
law passed during the reign of Aurelian the First, 
between a. d. 175 and 180, where they are mentioned 
as forming an article of commerce from India to Alex- 
andria ; for the Isthmus of Suez and the Red Sea 
formed at that time the chief highway of Eastern 
trade. From these islands the cloves were first 
taken by the Malays and Javanese to the penin- 
sula of Malacca, where they passed into the hands 
of the Telingas or Klings, who carried them to 
Calicut. Thence they were transported to the west- 
ern shores of India and shipped across the Arabian 
Sea, and up the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea to 
Cairo. These frequent transfers so increased the 
original price, that in England, before the dis- 
covery of the Cape of Good Hope, thirty shillings 
were paid for them per pound, or one hundred and 
sixty -eight pounds sterling per hundred - weight, 



158 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

whicli was three liundred and sixty times their origi- 
nal price. It was to make this immense profit that the 
Portuguese, the Spaniards, the Dutch, and the Eng-. 
lish, were all so anxious to find a passage to the East 
by sea, and why, when these islands had been discov- 
ered, each strove to monopolize the trade itself, and all 
carried on such a persistent and piratical warfare for 
many years. So long as cloves were not cultivated 
elsewhere, and there was no competition in the Euro- 
pean markets, the Dutch Government made a hand- 
some profit by means of its monopoly ; but when 
they were raised in other places, the consumption of 
such a luxury not increasing with the su|)ply, the 
previous high price began at once to decline, and for 
many years the income of the government in these 
islands has not been equal to its expenses in the 
same region. Some have supposed that a further 
reduction in the price would be followed vdth a cor- 
responding greater demand, until its consumption 
would become as general and as large as that of pep- 
per ; but this view is opposed by the common de- 
cision of mankind — that pepper is a necessary article 
of food, and that the clove is only a luxury. If no 
attempt had been made to keep up the price of this 
commodity to such a high figure in the European 
markets, there would have been a less incentive to 
other nations to introduce it into their own colonies, 
and thus the market would not have been over- 
stocked so soon, and the price would not have fallen 
so low as to make the Spice Islands a source of loss 
instead of profit, except within a recent date. 

All the rajahs I met were strict Mohammedans, 



MOHAMMEDAN JEALOUSY. 159 

and, improving tlie privileges of their sect, liad more 
than one wife. Soon after arriving at each rajah's 
house, I was invariably asked whether or not I 
was married, and for a long time I could not ima- 
gine why I was so closely quizzed, until the pro- 
verbial jealousy of these people occurred to me. 
Each wished to know how strict a watch he was to 
keep over his fascinating harem ; and as I was 
obliged to answer all such queries in the negative, I 
never even saw one of their wives. At meals only 
the rajah and myself sat at the table ; and as I had 
two servants, and each of these princes nearly a score, 
we were always well served, considering our fare. 
Two articles never failed to appear — chickens and 
rice — and to these fish was usually added ; and 
for luncheon and dessert always the richest bananas. 
One kind, the pisang Amhon^ or " Amboina banana," 
is very common in that region, but the one I soon 
learned to prefer, and the one that my servants were 
always ordered to procure if possible, wherever we 
chanced to halt, was the pisang mas^ or " golden ba- 
nana," a small variety, with a peculiarly rich, honey- 
like flavor, and a bright golden skin when it is fully 
ripe. This rajah, I noticed, was particular to seat me 
at the table so that I could only look out at the front 
door. The first query he proposed at dinner was, 
how we are accustomed to eat in our land, adding 
that, after all, no style suited him so well as dispen- 
sing with knives and forks altogether, and adopting 
the simpler and more natural mode of using one's 
fingers — a style so common, that each rajah usually 
keeps a supply of finger-bowls, and frequently these 



160 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

are wortli more than all tlie crockery and otter glass- 
ware on tlie table beside. Wliile I was most zeal- 
ously explaining in rej)ly tlie superiority of our cus- 
tom, there arose a suppressed giggle behind me ; the 
secret was out — ^the rajah's wives had been allowed 
to leave their close prison and look at me, while I 
was so placed that I could not, without the greatest 
rudeness, turn round so as to steal a glance at them. 
But as this noise was evidently not a part of the 
proposed programme, I re23ressed my curiosity, and 
continued my description. One topic especially they 
never seemed weary of hearing about, and that was 
my experience as a soldier. There was something 
strangely fascinating to their rude imaginations in 
the scenes of blood through Avhich I have had to 
pass. At first I had some difficulty in translating 
my stories into good Malay, but one of my servants 
fortunately spoke a little Dutch, and supplied me 
with a word or sentence, as the case demanded. 

From Assilulu I set off, during a heavy rain- 
storm, over a neighboring mountain for the south- 
west shore, and after a long walk over the rocks, 
sand, and shingle, we reached Lariki, where there 
was once a fort with a garrison, but now the ruins 
of the fort, and a few old, rusty guns are all that 
remain ; and the only official stationed there is an 
op?den.er or " overseer." In two days, at that place, I 
so increased my collection, that I had to hire eight 
coolies to transport it, each carrying two baskets 
— one on either end of a pole about four feet long. 
The baskets are made of an open framework of 
bamboo, covered inside with palm-leaves, and are 



THE SOUTHEAST MONSOON AT ITS HEIGHT. IQi 

therefore very ligM and duralble. The most comraon 
shell there is the little cyprcea cajnit-serpentis^ or 
" serpent's - head cowry," which has a close resem- 
hlance, both in form and color, to the head of a 
snahe. 

From Lariki the opziener accompanied me to the 
neighboring Icarwpong of Wakasihu, Our narrow 
footpath wound along the side of a rugged, project- 
ing crag, and the view from the outer point was 
very imposing. The stormy monsoon was at its 
height. The heavy swell rolling in ft-om the open 
ocean broke and flung its white spray and clotted 
foam far and wide over the black rocks left bare by 
the ebbing tide. Thick clouds, heavily freighted 
with rain, were driven by the strong wind against 
the rugged coast and adjoining mountains. The 
cocoa-nut palms that grew just above high- water 
level, and leaned over toward the sea, twisted and 
shook their plumy crests in a continual strife with 
the angry storm, and above them the. branches of 
great evergreens moaned and piped as they lashed to 
and fro in the fitful gusts of the tempests. 

At Wakasihu the old white-bearded rajah, hear- 
ing of our approach, came out to welcome us. The 
opziener explained to him the object of my coming, 
and immediately he ordered a large tifa^ that hung 
under an adjoining shed, to be beaten, as a warning 
to his people that their rajah required them all to 
assemble at once before his house. The news quickly 
spread that a foreigner had come to purchase shells, 
and the old men, young men, women, and children 
all came with the treasures that had been accumulate 
11 



162 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

ing for montlis, and even years, in their miserable 
dwellings. Here many perfect specimens of tlie 
riclily - colored Cassis flammea appeared, and also 
that strangely-marked shell, the Cyj^roea mappa, or 
"map cowry," so named from the irregular light- 
colored line over its back where the two edges of 
the mantle meet when the animal is fully expanded. 
They had crawled into the huhus that had been 
sunk for fish at a depth of several fathoms. 

The trading was carried on only in Malay, but 
when I offered a price, which was higher or lower than 
they had expected, they frequently consulted with 
each other in their own peculiar dialect or haJiasa. 
This the opziener, who was a native of the city of 
Amboina, was as totally unable to understand as I. 
He also assured me that even the natives at Lariki, 
from which we had walked in half an hour, could 
only understand an occasional word of the haliasa of 
this village, and that the j)eople of neither village 
could understand a word of the haliasa of Assilulu, 
two or three hours' walk beyond Lariki. In fact, as 
a rule, every community that is under one rajah, and 
this is generally but one village, has its own peculiar 
dialect, which is so different from the dialects of 
every adjoining village, that all are obliged to learn 
Malay in order to carry on any trade or hold any 
communication with their nearest neighbors. The 
haJiasa is never a ^vritten language, and appears to 
be constantly changing, for, at the city of Amboina, 
the natives have completely lost their dialect since 
the foreigners settled among them, and now can only 
speak with each other in Malay. The great diver- 



THE VARIETY OF NATIVE DIALECTS. 1(53 

sity in tlie native dialects, and tlie general adoption 
of Malay, existed at least as early as when tlie Span- 
iards first navigated these waters, for De Barros says : 
" Two facts give reason to believe tliat tlie inhabit- 
ants of these islands consist of various and diverse 
nations. The first is the inconstancy, hatred, and 
suspicion with which they watch each other ; and 
the second, the great variety of their languages ; for 
it is not the same with them and the Bisayans (the 
inhabitants of Bisaya, one of the Philippines), Avhere 
one language prevails with all. The variety, on the 
contrary, is so great that no two places understand 
each other's tongue. Even the pronunciation differs 
widely, for some form their words in the throat, 
others at the point of the tongue, others between the 
teeth, and others in the palate. If there be any 
tongue through which they can understand each 
other, it is the Malay of Malacca, to which the 
nobles" (rajahs and capalas) "have lately addicted 
themselves since the Moors " (Arabs) " have resorted 
to them for the clove." The Malays and Javanese 
probably visited these regions long before the Arabs ; 
and they, and not the Arabs, were the people who 
first taught these natives the Malay language. 

From Wakasihu I continued during a violent 
rain-storm along the south coast to Laha at the mouth 
of the bay of Amboina, determined to cross the bay 
and reach home that night, if possible. There were 
a number of villages along the route, and at each 
I had to procure a new relay of coolies. This caused 
much delay, but a foreigner soon learns that he must 
have an inexhaustible stock of patience to draw on at 



164 TRATELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

any unexpected moment if lie is going to deal with, 
tliese people. At one village they all agreed tliat a 
neighboring stream, whicli we could not avoid cross- 
ing, liad become so swollen by tlie lieavy rains, that 
it was absolutely impassable ; but I simply ordered 
them to quietly follow me, and where I could not 
lead the way they might turn back. However, when 
we came to its banks, we found before us a deep, 
foaming torrent, far more uninviting and dangerous 
than I had anticipated, yet by following up its course 
for half a mile, I came to a place where I made my 
way to the oj)posite bank ; but here I found myself 
hemmed in by a precipitous cliff, and there could 
be nothing done except to beat an inglorious retreat. 
The natives meantime had been trying the stream 
farther down, and had found a ford where the strong 
current was only waist-deep, and here we safely 
gained the opposite bank. After this came another 
stream even more difficult to cross, and after that, 
still a third. Each time I almost expected that the 
coolies, who were carrying over my shells, would be 
swept away, but they were all so lightly clad that 
they succeeded in 'maintaining their footing, even 
where the current was perfectly boiling. The streams 
are changed into rapid torrents in a few hours 
in these islands, where the water seems to come 
down from the sky in broad sheets whenever it rains. 
There are few bridges, and the difficulty of crossing 
the small rivers is one of the chief obstacles in 
travelling here during the rainy season. However, 
as a compensation, there is no sultry, scorching sun. 
Near the beaches where the streams flow out to the 



DANGEROUS VOYAGE IN A LEPER-LEPER. 155 

sea, tliey all widen into deep, oblong pools, wliicli are 
made very narrow at tigh-water level by the quanti- 
ties of sand tlirown up by the surf. Near tlie low- 
water level they again become broad and shallow, and 
during ebb-tide the best place to cross them is on the 
ocean shore as far down as one can go and avoid the 
danger of being swept away by the heavy surf. 

It was nearly night when we reached Laha; 
we were all thoroughly drenched, and ^had eaten 
nothing since morning except some half- ripe bananas. 
The storm was unabated, but the rajah said it was 
possible to cross the bay against the wind and waves, 
and three men were detailed to paddle us six miles 
to the city. Our boat was a common le;per-leper^ that 
is, a canoe made from the trunk of a large tree, with 
pieces of plank placed on the sides to raise them to 
the 23roper height. Both ends are sliar23, and curve 
upward. About four feet from the bow a pole is 
laid across, and another the same distance from the 
stern. These project outward fr-om the side of the 
boat six or eight feet, and to them is fastened a bam- 
boo, the whole forming what is known as an " out- 
rigger." The canoes themselves are so narrow, that 
without these external supports they would be even 
more crank than the bii^ch-bark canoes of our red In- 
dians. When we launched our leper-leper^ and placed 
on board our cargo of shells, and got in ourselves, her 
sides were only about four inches out of water, but I 
could not procure a larger boat, so we started. It 
soon became so dark that all we could discern on the 
neighboring shores were large fires which the natives 
had made from place to place to lure the fish by 



166 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

niglit into tlieir weirs. The wind also increased, and 
tlie waves rose liiglier and began to sparkle brightly, 
and occasionally a strong gust would seem to cliange 
the whole surface of the sea into a sheet of fire. For 
a time my boatmen felt strong, and encouraged each 
other with a wild shouting like an Indian warwhoop, 
and in this way we had made more than a mile from 
the shore, when the wind became much heavier, and 
occasionally an ugly wave broke over us. My men 
still continued to paddle on until we found that we 
were scarcely holding our own against the storm. 
' Then they became discouraged and proposed to go 
back, but turning round such a long, narrow boat in 
the midst of a rough sea was by no means an easy 
matter. The man forward stopped to rest, and just 
then a heavy flaw struck the front part of the boat, 
whirled it round in an instant, and away we flew off 
before the tempest like a race-horse. It had now 
become so dark and thick that, thouo;h the natives 
knew every foot of the shore, they could not tell 
where to steer, and it was only by paddling with all 
their might that we escaped running into a mass of 
foaming breakers. Finally we once more reached the 
shore ; the rajah had some rice and fish cooked, and 
at midnight I took my second meal that day. My 
bedroom was so open that the wind whistled in on 
every side and so completely chilled me that I ex- 
pected to find myself burning with fever the next 
day, but the excitement counteracted the cold, and I 
arrived again at Amboina safe and well. After such 
an excursion several days were passed wiiting labels, 
one of which I placed in each individual shell, a 



AN EARTHQUAKE. 107 

wearying and almost an endless task, but the thought 
continually occurred to me that, if I should not be 
permitted to return to my native land, such au- 
thentic labels in my own handwriting would en- 
able any one into whose hands my collection might 
fall to fully accomplish the object of my long jour- 
ney. 

July 28d. — This morning, at a quarter-past four, 
I was suddenly awaked by some cause which, for the 
moment, I could not understand, but immediately 
there began a low, heavy rumbling down deep in the 
earth-. It was not a roar, but such a rattling or 
quick succession of reports as is made when a number 
of heavily-laden coaches are rapidly driven down a 
steep street paved with round cobble-stones. At 
the next instant it seemed as if some huge giant had 
seized my bed, and had pushed it from him and then 
pulled it toward him with the greatest violence. 
The gentleman and lady with whom I was residing 
shouted out to me : " Run out of the house ! run for 
your life ! There is a dreadful earthquake ! " 

Back of the main house was the dining-room, 
smTounded by a low wall, and covered with a light 
roof This was our place of refuge. The gentle- 
man then explained to me that the shock which 
had just occurred was the second, and a very se- 
vere one, and the first, which was light, was what 
had so suddenly aroused me from a deep sleep. Of 
course, no one of us knew but another still heavier 
might come at the next instant and lay all the 
buildings near us in a mass of ruins, if indeed the 
earth should not open and swallow us all alive. 



168 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

The time tliat elapsed "between hearing the rumbling 
noise and feeling the shock itself was about five 
seconds. At this time of the year, in the middle of 
a monsoon, the wind blows constantly day and 
night ; but after this earthquake there was not 
the slightest perceptible motion in the air. The 
tree-toads stopped their steady piping, and the noc- 
turnal insects all ceased their shrill music. It was 
so absolutely quiet that it seemed as if all nature 
was waiting in dread anticipation of some coming 
catastrophe. Such an unnatural stillness was cer- 
tainly more painful than the howling of the most 
violent tempest or the roar of the heaviest thunder. 
Meantime, lights sj)rang up here and there in the 
neighboring houses, and all the doors were thrown 
open, that at the slightest warning everybody might 
run into the street. The strange words of the Chinese, 
Malays, and Arabs, sounded yet stranger in the dark, 
still night, as each called in a subdued but most ear- 
nest tone to his or her relatives. The utter helpless- 
ness which every one feels at such a time, where even 
the solid earth groans and trembles beneath his feet, 
makes the solicitude most keenly painful. It was 
half an hour — and that half hour seemed an age — 
before the wind began to blow as before. Then 
the nocturnal animals, one after another, slowly re- 
sumed their nightly cries, and our alarm gradu- 
ally subsided as the dawn appeared, and once 
more gave promise of approaching day. I had long 
been anxious to ^witness an earthquake ; but since 
that dreadful night there is something in the very 
sound of the word that makes me almost shudder. 



DISEASES CAUSED BY EARTHQUAKES. 16^ 

There is usually at least one earthquake — ^that is, 
one series of shocks — at Amboina every year, and 
when eight or ten months have passed without one, 
a very heavy shock is always expected. 

On the 17th of February, 1674, according to 
Valentyn, Amboina suffered from a heavy earth- 
quake, and Mount Ateti, or Wawanu, on Hitu, west 
of the village of Zyt, poured out a great quantity of 
hot mud, which flowed down to the sea. In 1822 
Dr. S. MuUer visited it and found a considerable 
quantity of sublimed sulphur, and some sulphurous 
acid gas rising from it. Again, in 1815, when the 
volcano of Tomboro, or Sumbawa, was suffering its 
terrible eruption, an earthquake was felt at several 
places on this island. Many people described to me 
a series of shocks of great violence that began on the 
1st of November, 1835, and continued three weeks. 
The whole population of the city were obliged to 
leave their houses and live for all that time in tents 
and bamboo huts in the large common back of the 
forts. Up to that date Amboina had been a re- 
markably healthy place, but immediately afterward 
a gastric-bilious fever broke out and continued until 
March, 1845. On the 20th of July of that year an- 
other heavy earthquake was experienced, and this 
disease at once began again, but had somewhat sub- 
sided, when, on the 18th and 20th of March, 1850, 
another severe shock occurred, and again for the 
third time it commenced anew. This time both the 
governor and the assistant resident died. At pres- 
ent Amboina is one of the healthiest islands in these 
seas. On the 4tli and 5th of November, 1699, a 



170 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

series of earthquakes occurred among tlie mountains 
where tlie river tliat flows tlirougli Batavia takes its 
rise. During tkese shocks a land-slide occurred, and 
the water was so filled with mud that the canals and 
ramifications of the river in the city were silted up, 
and their currents completely stopped. The imme- 
diate consequence was, a large proportion of the 
population of that city fell victims to a fever en- 
gendered hj the great quantities of stagnant water. 
No similar cause could have operated here on the 
island of Amboina. As the quantity of rain, the 
strength and direction of the wind, and all other 
meteorological phenomena, appear to have heen the 
same as in other years, it is evident that the disease 
was connected in some way with the earthquakes, 
and the view has been advanced that it was caused 
by quantities of |)oisonous gases which are supposed 
to have risen out of the earth during the violent 
shocks. 

Many fine shells were now brought me from Tu- 
lahu, a kampong on the northeast coast of Hitu, so I 
determined to go on my next excursion in that direc- 
tion. Two miles up the bay from the city of Am- 
boina a tongue of laud projects out from either shore, 
until a passage only five hundred yards wide is left 
between them. Within this passage the sea again 
expands into a bay about three miles long and a mile 
and a half wide. The depth of the water in the j)as- 
sage is sufiicient for the largest ships, yet inside it 
is nowhere more than twenty or twenty-five fathoms. 
A large navy could anchor here, and be perfectly 
sheltered from all winds and seas ; but vessels rarely 



CAN^AL TO BAGUALA BAT. lYl 

or never enter it, as tlie road off tlie city is so far 
from tlie moutli of tlie bay tliat it is very seldom any 
considerable swell rolls in from tlie ocean, and more- 
over, tlie shores of tbis bay are considered extremely 
nnbealtby on account of fevers, wbile sickness of tbat 
kind is very rare at tbe outer ancborage. On tbe 
eastern or Laitimur side of tbe bay tbere are several 
kampongs upon tbe low land along tbe sbore. Back 
from tbe low land, on tbe Hitu side, tbere is a grad- 
ual ascent to mountains a mile or two back. One of 
tbem, Salbutu, rises twelve bundred metres above 
tbe sea, and is tbe bigbest peak on tbe island. In 
tbe sballow water around tbe bead of tbe -bay grow 
many mangrove-trees (liMzoplioroi). A low istbmus 
of sand and alluvium, only some tbirteen bundred 
yards broad, and but a few feet above bigb- water 
level, connects Laitimur witb Hitu. Tbrougb tbis a 
canal was cut in 1827 to tbe large bay of Baguala, 
in order tbat tbe praus bound from Cerani to Am- 
boiiia migbt avoid tbe long route round tbe danger- 
ous sbores of Laitimur ; but in twelve years tbis j)as- 
sage became so filled up witb sand as to be impas- 
sable, except for small boats, and now tliey can only 
go to and fro during bigb tide, and tbus wbatever 
tbere is to be transported must be carried on tbe 
backs of coolies. It is very painfal to see sucb valu- 
able improvements neglected and becoming useless, 
for it sbows tbat tbe wbole tendency in tbis region, 
instead of being toward progress, is only toward 
decay. Crossing tbis istbmus, we continued along 
tbe sandy sbores on tbe nortb side of Baguala Bay, 
for tbis is tbe only bigbway between tbe city of Am- 



172 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

Iboina and tlie populous islands of Haruku, Saparua, 
and Nusalaut, to tlie east. Occasionally tlie patli 
passed over a projecting point, but wlien it is low 
water tlie natives usually prefer to follow along tlie 
shore, just as tlieir fathers did for centuries before 
tLeni, although it is frequently twice as far as by the 
road. In an hour and a half we came to Suli, a 
pretty Christian kainpong. The road then turned 
to the north and led us for two or three miles over 
low hills of coral rock, covered with a thin layer of 
red soil, to Tulahu, a village on the north coast, 
which contains a population of about fifteen hun- 
dred, and is the largest on the island. Near its 
centre is a mosque, for the whole community is com- 
posed of Mohammedans. As I passed up the main 
street on my way to the house of the rajah, scores of 
boys and men kept gathering and following, to learn 
from my servants who this strange foreigner that 
headed the procession could be, and what was the 
object of his coming. The rajah had been notified 
by the Resident of my proposed visit, and received 
me with a j)rofound " salaam," In the village was a 
ruma negri, or "house belonging to the village." 
It had been erected by the villagers, in accordance 
with orders from the Dutch Government, for the 
accommodation of all officials and foreigners passing 
that way. It was built in the usual style of foreign 
houses in the East, with a broad veranda in front, 
an admirable place to trade with the people. A 
comfortable bedroom was fitted up for me, but I 
dined with the rajah. I was always careful to 
take a good supply of tea and sugar on such excur- 



WE DINE ON INK-FISH. 1Y3 

sions, and my servants purcliased cMckens, fisli, and 
whatever else was to Ibe procured ; in sliort, I bonglit 
all the food, and tlie raj all helped me eat it, so that I 
falfilled to the letter the order of the governor-gen- 
eral that I should prove " no burden to the native 
people ; " but, on the contrary, as I spent many guil- 
ders for shells in each village, my visits, in their eyes, 
were special blessings. Again and again mothers 
would come with their children and complain most 
bitterly that they had so little food and clothing, 
and beg me to take the shells they had brought, and 
name my own price. The rajah at first could hardly 
believe I should collect many shells in his village, 
but I asked him to beat the Ufa for his capalas, liter- 
ally " head men," but really a higher class of ser- 
vants, whose duty it is to convey to the people the 
rajah's commands, and see them duly enforced. The 
capalas were ordered to summon all those who ]3rob- 
ably had shells in their houses, that I might invite 
them to trade. Meantime supper was prepared. The 
first object on the table that attracted my attention 
was an Octopus, or " inkfish," an animal much like the 
squid of our own shores, which fishermen sometimes 
use for bait, and which whalers know is a favorite 
morsel for blackfish ; but I never heard of men feast- 
ing on it before. After this questionable dish and a 
chicken were disposed of, the fried fruit of the Arfo- 
carpus mcisa, or " bread-fruit tree," was placed on 
the table. After supper I walked through all the 
principal streets of the village, supported on either 
side by a capala, who persistently drove all the na- 
tives out of the street before us, and forced them to 



174 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

take tlieir proper place behind us. To give tlie trade 
more eclat^ I took a good quantity of small copper 
coins and distributed tliem freely among tke small, 
ckildren as I passed along. Tke result of tkis ma- 
noeuvre vv^as most magical ; everybody was anxious to 
make my acquaintance and sell me shells. Even tke 
good Mokammedan priest laid aside kis feelings of 
indifference tov^ard tlie Ckristian stranger, and in- 
vited me under kis roof. He also intimated tkat ke 
could favor me v^itk a few species, but, as kis prices 
were five times as kigk as tkose of tke common 
people, I neglected to make a selection from kis 
treasures. 

Eack evening tkat I was in tkis village tke rajak 
insisted on my passing kour after kour on kis veran- 
da, describing to kim tke foreign countries ke could 
name. Like many otker natives wko would like to 
be free from all European rule, it afforded kim great 
comfort to kear tkat Tana Ollanda (Holland) was 
muck smaller in area tkan France or England. Wken 
I came to tell kim tkat Tana America was a still 
greater country, ke listened politely, but a kalf-in- 
credulous smile revealed kis belief tkat I only spoke 
of it in suck an entkusiastic manner because I was an 
American; yet wken I added, tkat kowever muck 
otker nations migkt wisk to possess tkese beautifal 
islands, America would never kave suck a desire, kis 
knowledge of geograpky seemed to kave become com- 
plete at once, and ke explained to all wko were lis- 
tening tkat Tana America was admitted by all to be 
tke largest and tke most powerful of all nations. He 
also kad an almost endless series of questions to ask 



A FRIENDLY SIEGE. 175 

about the sovereigns of tlie lands I had. described, 
and, like a good Mobammedan, expressed bis confi- 
dence tbat I sbould speak well of tbe Sultan of Tur- 
key, wbom be appeared to regard as tbe next in au- 
tbority to tbe Propbet bimself. 

Tbe next day I went westward to Waai, wbere I 
obtained many specimens of tbe great Troclius mar- 
moratus^ wbicb lives in abundance a little fartber 
toward tbe northwestern end of tbe island, but can 
only be procured alive during tbe opposite monsoon. 
Its beautifully marbled, sea-green surface, and bright, 
pearly interior have always made it a favorite orna- 
ment for the parlor in every land. Many, wishing to 
improve on Nature, remove tbe green outer layers 
either by hydrochloric or nitric acid, so as to give 
tbe exterior also a bright nacreous iridescence. Hun- 
dreds of the heavy opercula of these animals are 
found on the neighboring shores, for Nature has pro- 
vided each with this thick door, which, after it has 
withdrawn itself into tbe shell, it can close behind it, 
and thus be free from all barm. 

On my return I found my bouse besieged with more 
than two hundred of both sexes and of every age, from 
infancy to second childhood. Each had a lot of shells 
to sell, and therefore the prices were very low ; but 
I was careful to pay them more than they could earn 
in any other way in tbe same time. The women and 
cliiklren on all these islands are accustomed to gather 
mollusks at every low tide for food, and whenever 
any particularly rare or beautiful shell is found, it is 
always saved ; and it was for this reason tbat I was 
always confident tbat I could obtain some valuable 



176 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

specimens in every village. Here I secured one shell, 
tie Stromhus latissimus^ or " tHck-lipped strombns ," 
that I liad long been hoping to see. It lives in the 
deep water between these shores and the opposite 
coast of Ceram, and I conld not hear that it is found 
in any other locality. Many species of long " spindle- 
shells " (Misi) are fonnd here — some nearly smooth, 
and some richly ornamented with tubercles. 

I had now been on the island four weets, and it 
was time for the monthly mail to arrive, bringing me 
letters from home. This exciting thought caused me 
to forget even my passion for shells, and, promising 
the natives I would come again and purchase all the 
specimens they could collect, I returned to the city 
of Amboina. 



CHAPTEE VI. 

THE ULIASSEES AND CEEAM. 

The arrival of tlie mail here, at Aml^oina, causes 
a general rejoicing. Indeed, it is tlie only thing there 
is to break the dull monotony of a residence in this 
enervating climate, unless, as happened this month, 
there is an earthquake, which affords a grand oppor- 
tunity for the old residents to describe to all new- 
comers the fearful shocks they have experienced, and 
this they invariably do with that ]3eculiar kind of 
semi-boasting with which a veteran fights over his 
battles in the presence of raw recruits. The last 
earthquake, which everybody witnessed, is referred 
to very much as we at home speak of some violent 
gale that has swept along the coast. Those who 
would be weather-wise in our land here discuss 
the various directions from which the different 
shocks came — ^upon which there seems a considerable 
variance of opinion, but I notice that generally each 
company agrees with the highest dignitary present. 
This was a fortunate mail for me, It brought me 
letters from home, and many American pajDers from 
our consul at Batavia, who never failed to send me 
the latest news all the time I was in any part of the 
archipelago. Before the next mail my letters were 

12 



178 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN AKCHIPELAGO. 

read and re-read. The pages of tlie Boston papers 
seemed like tlie faces of familiar friends, and it 
was difficult not to peruse the advertisements, col- 
umn by column, before I could lay them aside. I, 
in turn, was able to write my friends that already I 
possessed a full series of nearly all the species of 
shells I had come to seek. 

East of Amboina lie three islands, sometimes 
called the "Uliassers." The first and nearest to 
Amboina is Haruku (in Dutch Haroekoe) ; it is 
also known to the natives as Oma, or Buwang-bessi, 
" Ejecting-iron." The second is Saparua (in Dutch 
Saparoea) ; but according to Mr. Crawfurd it should 
be Sapurwa, or Sapurba, from the native numeral 
Sa standing as an article, and the Sanscrit, purioa^ 
"source," a name probably given it by the Malay 
and Javanese traders, who came here to buy cloves 
long before the Portuguese reached such a remote 
region, and this is made more probable by the 
name of the third island Nusalaut (in Dutch Noesa- 
laoet), which is compounded of the Javanese word 
misa^ "an island," and the Malay word laut, "the 
sea." Nusalaut, therefore, means Sea Island, and was 
evidently so named because it is situated more nearly 
in the open sea. The Javanese word nusa, which is 
applied, like the Malay word pulo^ only to small 
islands, enables us to trace out the early course of 
the Javanese traders. At the southern end of Laiti- 
mur is a kampong named Niisaniva (niba), " Fallen 
Island," perhaps because some island, or a part 
of Amboina itself, had sunk in that vicinity. Near 
the Banda group is Nusatelo (better taluh), " Magic 



MODE OF PASSING FROM ISLAND TO ISLAND. 179 

Island," Saparua is also known to the natives as 
Honimoa, and Liaser, wlience probably tlie old 
name Uliassers, for tMs is tlie most important of tlie 
three islands, and would naturally give its name to 
tlie wliole group. A inercliant from Saparua, tlie 
cMef place on tlie island of tliat name, was tlien 
visiting Amboina, and kindly invited me to accom- 
pany Mm wlien lie should return — an invitation I 
was most happy to accept, for Rumphius received 
many shells from these islands, and I anticipated ob- 
taining some species alive, of which I possessed only 
shells. A heavy storm delayed us for a week, a 
frequent occurrence during the southeast monsoon. 
From Amboina we followed my former route to 
Tulahu, which we reached at evening, the usual 
time for commencing a voyage in these seas at this 
time of year, because the wind generally moderates 
after sunset, and freshens again the next morning 
soon after sunrise. We embarked at once on a large 
prau, manned by eighteen natives of Saparua, and 
readily distinguished from the people of Amboina 
by the peculiar custom of clipping the hair short all 
over the head, except a narrow band along the fore 
head, which is allowed to hang down over the face 
and gives them a remarkably clownish appearance 
One of these men, who was coxswain or captain 
steered with a large paddle; two others were de 
tailed to keep up the continual, monotonous din 
and which these people consider music, and the 
others rowed. Our musical instruments were a 
huge tifa^ that gave out a dull, heavy sound, such as 
would be caused by beating a hollow log, and not 



180 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

the sharp, quick rap of a drum, wliicli, however mo- 
notonous, still has something stirring and lively in 
it ; and two gongs, imported from China, and just 
harsh and discordant enough to please the musical 
tympanums of the stupid Celestials. The tifa is beat 
with a piece of wood of any shape held loosely in 
the right hand, while the left hand raises the note 
by pressing against the edge of the vibrating skin. 
There is, therefore, no such thing as a long roll or a 
short roll, but one unvaried beating. The two gongs 
were of different sizes, and were struck alternately, 
but this was so slight a change that it only made the 
monotony more wearisome. Each rower had a small 
wooden box, about a foot long, four inches high, and 
six wide, where he carried the all-important betel- 
nut, siri, lime, and tobacco. It also served as a chest 
for his extra clothing. 

The betel-nut is the fruit of a tall, slender, and 
extremely graceful palm, the Areca cateclvu. The 
trunk is usually from six to eight inches only in 
diameter, but the sheaf of green leaves that springs 
out of its top is thirty or forty feet from the ground. 
Of all the beautiful palms, this is decidedly the most 
fascinating to me. Near the house in which I lived, 
at Batavia, there was a long avenue of these grace- 
ful trees, and there in the bright mornings, and cool 
evenings, I was accustomed to saunter to and fro, 
and each time it seemed that they were more charm- 
ing than ever before. This tree grows over all 
tropical India, and the whole archipelago, including 
the Philippines. Its Malay name is ])inang^ hence 
Pulo Pinang is the Betel-nut Island. In nearly all 




BETEL-NUT PALM. 



p. 180. 



From a sketch by Raliden Saleh. 



MODE OF CHEWING BETEL-NUT. 181 

the large islands it has a different name, an indica- 
tion that it is indigenous. In Javanese it is called 
jmnhi, and a region on the north coast of Sumatra, 
where it is very abundant, has therefore received that 
name. In favorable situations this tree begins to 
bear when it is six years old, and generally yields 
about a hundred nuts in a loose, conical cluster. 
Each nut, when ripe, is about as large as a pullet's 
Qgg, and of a bright, ochreous yellow. This yellow 
skin encloses a husk, the analogue of the thick husk 
of the cocoa-nut. Within this is a small spheri- 
cal nut, closely resembling a nutmeg, but very hard 
and tough, except when taken directly from the 
tree. It is chewed with a green leaf of the sir% 
Piper hetel, which is raised only for this purpose, 
and such great quantities of it are consumed in this 
way, that large plantations are seen in Java solely 
devoted to its culture. The mode of preparing this 
morsel for use is very simple : a small quantity of 
lime as large as a pea is placed on a piece of the nut, 
and enclosed in a leaf of siri. The roll is taken 
between the thumb and forefinger, and rubbed vio- 
lently against the front gums,, while the teeth are 
closed firmly, and the lips oj)ened widely. It is 
now chewed for a moment, and then held between 
the teeth and lips, so as to partly protrude from the 
mouth. A profusion of red brick-colored saliva now 
pours out of each corner of the mouth while the man 
is exerting himself at his oar, or hurrying along under 
a heavy load. When he is rich enough to enjoy 
tobacco, a small piece of that luxury is held with 
the siri between the lips and teeth. The leaf of the 



182 TKAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

tobacco is cut so fine tliat it exactly resemlbles tlie 
"fine cut" of civilized lands; and long threads of 
tlie fibrous, oakum-like substance are always seen 
hanging out of the mouths of the natives, and 
completing their disgusting ajDpearance. This re- 
volting habit prevails not only among the men, 
but also among the women, and whenever a number 
come together to gossip, as in other countries, a 
box containing the necessary articles is always seen 
near by, and a tall, urn-shaped spit-box of brass is 
either in the midst of the circle or passing from one 
to another, that each may free her mouth from sur- 
plus saliva. Whenever one native calls on another, 
or a stranger is received from abroad, invariably the 
first article that is offered him is the siri-box. 

From Tulahu we crossed a strait about half 
a mile broad, and came under the lee of the 
north side of Haruku, an oblong island, with a 
long point on the east and southwest. Its extreme 
length is about two and a quarter geographical 
miles, its greatest width one and a quarter, and 
its entire area eight square geographical miles. 
The surface abounds in hills, but the highest is 
not a thousand feet above the sea. Its population 
is U23ward of seven thousand, and is distributed 
in eleven villages, and about evenly divided be- 
tween Christianity and Mohammedanism. Its geo- 
logical structure is probably like the neighboring 
parts of Laitimur. It is quite surrounded by a j^lat- 
form of coral, which must be bare in some places at 
low water. We kept near the shore, so that I could 
look down deep into the clear water, and distinctly 







MALAY BELLES. 



p. 182. 



From a pbotogrnph. 



WE STRIKE ON A CORAL REEF. 183 

see many round massive heads of brain-coral, Mean- 
drina^ and other beautiful branching forms, Astrea^ 
hundreds of massive and tubular sponges, and broad 
sea-fans, Gorgonias^ as we glided over these miniature 
forests and wide gardens beneath the sea. 

A clear sunset gave a good promise of an unusu- 
ally pleasant night, and the stars twinkled brightly 
as the evening came on, but the dull vibrations of the 
tifa and the continual crashings of the gongs, with 
now and then a wild, prolonged shout from one of 
the oarsmen, and a similar chorus fi'om the others, 
kept me awake till late in the night. Finally, just 
as a troubled sleep was creeping over me, there was 
a sudden shout from every native, and our round-bot- 
tomed prau gave a frightful lurch, first to starboard 
and then to larboard. All was confusion and uproar, 
and my first waking thought was that we must have 
run into the back of some sea-monster, and that, per- 
haps, the sea-serpent was no myth after all, for when 
only such savages are seen on the land for men, it is 
not unreasonable that hideous, antedilu^dan monsters 
must be twisting their long, snaky forms beneath in 
the deep, dark ocean. After awhile the danger was 
explained : we had struck on a coral reef, though we 
were at least half a mile from the shore. This indi- 
cates the width, at this place, of the platform of coral 
which encircles the whole island. The heavy swell 
which had scarcely affected the boat while afloat now 
made her roll almost over the moment her keel 
touched the rock. Such rough, projecting coral reefs 
are very dangerous to the best boats, for in a few 
moments they will frequently grind a hole through 



184 TEAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

Iter planks, and immediately slie sinks in tlie surf, 
wliile those on board find themselves far from the 
shore. Pushing off, we stood directly eastward to 
Saparua, four miles distant, and at half-past three 
entered a small bay, and were at the kampong Haria. 
This island has quite the form of the letter H, being 
nearly divided into two equal parts by a deep bay 
on the south side and another on the north. The 
length of the western peninsula, which is a little 
longer than that of the eastern, is two and a quarter 
geographical miles, and the narrow isthmus which 
connects them is about a mile wide. The peninsulas 
are very mountainous, the highest peaks rising fif- 
teen hundred feet above the sea, but the isthmus is 
composed of low hills, and is mostly an open prairie. 
The whole area of the island is ten square geographi- 
cal miles. Its population numbers more than eleven 
thousand, making it the most densely peopled of all 
the islands that now produce cloves. Along its 
shores are no less than sixteen villages, mostly on the 
two bays. Of these only three are Mohammedan, 
the others are Christian. In 1817, when the English 
restored these islands to the Dutch, a great rebellion 
broke out in this island, which it took nearly two 
years to quell, and, what is remarkable, the leaders 
of this revolt were Christians, that is, members of the 
Dutch Church. 

From Haria we crossed the southern j^eninsula 
to the chief town, also called Saparua, at the head 
of the southern bay. Unlike the narrow foot- 
paths on the island of Amboina, the roads here 
are broad enough for carts, though none are used, 



CELEBRATING A BIRTHDAY. 185 

and besides, at tlie end of every paal from tlie cMef 
village a small square pillar is set up, indicating tlie 
distance from tlie Resident's house, and the year it was 
erected. At Saparua, my merchant-friend gave me a 
nice room, and the Resident, who received me in the 
politest manner, said he was just planning a tour of 
inspection to Nusalaut, the most eastern island of the 
group, and would be happy to have me accompany 
him, an invitation I most gladly accepted, for the na- 
tives had described it to me as abounding in the 
most beautiful shells, and already I possessed a few 
rare species that had passed from one native to 
another until they reached me at Amboina, He also 
showed me some choice shells that had been sent to 
him as presents by the various rajahs. Two were 
magnificent specimens of that costly wentletrap, the 
Soalaria preciosa^ for which large sums were once 
paid in Europe. It was the only kind of shell which 
I saw or heard of during my long travels among these 
islands, of which I failed to obtain, at least, one good 
specimen. He also had many very fine map-cow- 
ries, which the natives everywhere regard as rare 
shells. 

That evening the commandant of the " schuterij," 
or native militia, was to celebrate his birthday by giv- 
ing a ball at the ruma negri. I attended, as a matter of 
politeness, but not being able to dance myself, with- 
drew when they had finished the first waltz, for the an- 
ticipation of a ramble along the neighboring shores on 
the morrow would have had a far greater fascination 
to me than whirling until I was giddy, half embraced 
in the arms of one of those dark belles, even if I had 



186 TKAYELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

understood how to take all tlieir odd steps witli due 
grace. The passion of these people for dancing ap- 
|)ears to be insatiable, for at eight o'clock the next 
morning a good proj)ortion of them were still whirl- 
ing round and round with as much spirit as if the 
fete had just begun. As might naturally be ex- 
pected, these natives abhor all application and labor, 
in the same degree that they are fond of excitement. 
Sa23arua Bay is one of the most beautiful inlets 
of the sea. Near its head is a bold, projecting bluff, 
and on this rise the white walls of Fort Duurstede. 
The other parts of the shore form a semicircular, 
sandy beach, which is bordered with such a thick 
grove of cocoa-nut palms that no one looking from 
the bay would imagine that they concealed hundreds 
of native houses. Here myriads of flat sea-urchins, 
Clypeastridw^ almost covered the flats near low- water 
level, and completely buried themselves in the cal- 
careous sand as the tide left them. Thousands of 
little star-fish were also found in the same locality, 
hiding themselves in a similar manner. Higher up 
the beach among the algce were many larger star- 
fishes, with the usual five rays ; but, as sometimes 
happens among these low animals, one S23ecimen was 
provided with one arm more than his companions, and 
could boast of six. Where ledges of coral rock rose 
out of the water, countless numbers of the little money 
cowry, Oyprcea moneta, filled the excavations formed 
in this soft rock. They are seldom collected here, as 
they are too small to be used for food, and these na- 
tives never use them as a medium of exchange, as 
has been the custom from the earliest ages in India. 



NUSALAUT. 



187 



August 17th. — At 5 A. M. started witli tlie Resi- 
dent for Nusalaut. Our party included tlie doctor 
stationed witli tlie garrison, the commandant of 
militia, wliose birtliday liad been so faithfully ob- 
served the day before, my merchant - friend, the 
" stuurman," or captain, and last, and perhaps I 
should add least, a little mestizo scribe, whose prop- 
er title was " the commissie." A strong: head wind, 
with frequent squalls of rain, made our progress slow 
till we reached a high point which the natives called 
Tanjong O, the Headland O. From that point over 
to Nusalaut was a distance of some two miles. As 
we left the shore, and pushed out into the open sea, 
our progress became still slower. Inch by inch we 
gained till we were halfway across, when the wind 
freshened, and for a time we could scarcely hold our 
own, despite the increased jargon from the tifa and 
the gong, and a wilder whooping from every native, 
varied by mutterings from each, to the effect that he 
was the only one who was really working. Almost 
the moment these people meet with any unexpected 
difficulty they become disheartened, and want to give 
up their task at once, exactly like little children. 

Nusalaut, like the other Uliassers, is completely 
surrounded by a shallow platform of coral, which is 
mostly bare at low water. We therefore entered a 
small bay, where the deep water • would allow our 
boat to come near the shore. Coolies now waded 
off with chairs on their shoulders, and landed us 
dry-footed on the beach, where were a dozen natives, 
clad in what is supposed to have been the war-cos- 
tume of their ancestors long before the arrival of 



188 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

Europeans. They were quite naked, and carried in 
tlieir right hands large cleavers or swords (some 
of which I noticed were made of wood). On the 
left arm was a narrow shield al)out four feet long, 
and evidently more for show than use, as it was 
only three or four inches wide in the middle. On 
the head was a kind of crown, and, as long plumes 
are scarce, sticks were covered with white hen- 
feathers, and stuck in as a substitute. From their 
shoulders and elbows hung strips of bright-red calico, 
to make them look gay or fierce (it was difficult to 
say which). Their war-dance consisted in springing 
forward and backward, and whirling rapidly round. 
Forming in two lines, they fiercely brandished their 
swords, as we advanced between them to a little ele- 
vation, where all the rajahs had gathered to receive 
the Resident. 

ISTusalaut is oblong in form, less than two miles in 
length, and in some places only half a mile wide. Its 
area, therefore, is somewhat less than a single square 
mile. Its surface is hilly, but the highest point is 
not more than three hundred meters above the sea. 
A century and a half ago its population numbered 
five thousand, but at present it is only three thousand 
five hundred. The number of villages, and, conse- 
quently, of rajahs, is only seven. We first visited 
Sila, the one nearest our landing. As we entered the 
kampong, we found the main street ornamented in a 
most tasteful manner. The young, light-yellow leaves 
of the cocoa-nut palm had been split in two, and were 
bent into bows or arcs with the midrib uppermost, 
and the leaflets hanging beneath. These bows were 



AN EASTERN BANQUET. 189 

placed on tlie top of the fence, so as to form a con- 
tinued series of arches; a simple arrangement that 
certainly produced a most charming effect. As we 
passed along, scores of heavily-loaded flint-locks 
were discharged in our honor, and these mimic war- 
riors continued their peculiar evolutions. From Sila 
a short walk brought us to Lainitu, and here our re- 
ception took a new phase. In front of the rajah's 
house was a wide triumphal arch, made of boards, 
and ornamented with two furious red lions, who 
held up a shield containing a welcome to the Resi- 
dent. But just before we passed under that, the 
crowd in front parted, and lo, before us stood eighteen 
or twenty young girls, who had been ' selected from 
the whole village for their beauty. They were all 
arrayed in their costliest dresses, which consisted of 
a bright-red sarong and a low kabaya, over which was 
another of lace, the latter bespangled with many thin 
pieces of silver. Their long, black hair was combed 
backward, and fastened in a knot behind, and in this 
were stuck many long flexible silver pins, that rapidly 
vibrated as they danced. Most of them had a nar- 
row strip of the hair over the forehead clipped short, 
but not shaven, a most unsightly custom, and per- 
haps originally designed to make their foreheads 
higher. Their lips were stained to a dull brick-red 
from constantly indulging in the use of the betel. 
They were arranged in two rows, and their dance, 
the minari^ was nothing more than slowly twist- 
ing their body to the right and left, and, at the 
same time, moving the extended arms and oj)en 
hands in circles in opposite directions. The only 



190 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

motion of tlieir naked feet was to change tlie weight 
of the body from the heel to the toe, and vice versa. 
During the dance they sang a low, plaintive song, 
which was accompanied by a tifa and a number 
of small gongs, suspended by means of a cord in 
a framework of gaha-gaha, the dried midribs of 
palm-leaves. The gongs increased regularly in size 
from one of five or six inches to one of a foot 
or fifteen inches in diameter. Each had a round 
knob or boss in the middle, which was struck with 
a small stick. When made to reverberate in this 
manner, their music was very agreeable, apd re- 
sembled closely that made by small bells. Sev- 
eral gentlemen informed me that this instrument 
was introduced here from Java by natives of these 
islands, who were taken there by the Dutch to as- 
sist in putting down a rebellion. It is merely a 
rude copy of the instrument called the honang or 
Icromo in Java. The number of gongs composing 
this instrument varies fr^om six or eight to fourteen. 
In Java the sticks used in striking the gongs, instead 
of being made only of wood, are carefully covered 
with a coating of gum to make the sound softer. 
Another common instrument in Java is the gam- 
hang^ consisting of wooden or brass bars of different 
lengths, placed crosswise over a wooden trough. 
These are struck with small sticks composed of a 
handle and a round ball of some light substance like 
pith, as shown in the accompanying photograph of a 
Javanese and his wife. The instrument in the left hand 
is a kind of flute, and that in his right is a triangle 
exactly like those used in negro concerts in our land. 



Ir:"#;|' >1'^ 




MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF THE JAVANESE. 



f. 190. 



MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF THE MALAYS. 191 

In tlie Simda districts of Java very good music is 
produced by an instrument wMcli consists of a series 
of small bamboo tubes of diiferent lengths, so placed 
in a rude framework of wood that they can slightly 
vibrate, and strike the sides of the frame when it is 
shaken in the hand. 

On the peninsula of Malacca a kind of gigantic 
JEolian harp is made, by removing the partitions 
within a bamboo, thirty or forty feet long, and making 
a row of holes in the side as in a flute. This is 
placed upright among the dense foliage, and in the 
varying breeze gives out soft or heavy notes, until 
the whole surrounding forest seems filled with the 
harps of fairies. 

All these natives are passionately fond of music, 
and perhaps in nothing has their inventive genius 
been so well displayed as in their peculiar musical in- 
struments, which have been brought to the greatest 
perfection in Java, where they are so elaborate that a 
set of eighteen or twenty pieces, for a complete band, 
costs from six hundred to one thousand dollars. A 
number of these were taken to England by Sir Stam- 
ford Eaffles, and carefully examined by a competent 
judge, who expressed himself " astonished and de- 
lighted with their ingenious fabrication, splendor, 
beauty, and accurate intonation." 

While we were watching the slow, graceful dance, 
dinner was prepared, and we were summoned fr^om 
the veranda to an o|)en room in the rear. The wife 
of the rajah was the only lady at the table, and, as all 
the princes and notables of the other villages were 
present, the number of guests who were ready to 



192 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

take seats witli us was not small. Our bill of fare 
was sufficient to satisfy tlie most fastidious ej)icure -. 
for substantial diet tlie neighboring forests liad fur- 
nislied us witb an abundance of venison and tlie meat 
of tbe wild boar, and tlie adjoining bays bad yielded 
several kinds of nice fish. All was prepared in an 
unexceptional manner, and tbe ricli display of pine- 
apples, mangostins, dukus, and several kinds of bana- 
nas was finer than many a European prince could set 
before Ms guests. Tbe process of demolishing bad 
fully begun, when tbe dark beauties, wbo had been 
dancing before the house, came in, and ranged them- 
selves round the table. My first impression was, that 
they had come in to see how Europeans eat, and I only 
refrained from hinting to that effect to the Kesident 
on my right, because he had already smiled to see 
my surprise at our novel reception, and besides, I was 
anxious not to appear to be wholly ignorant of their 
odd customs. Soon they began to sing, and this, I 
thought to myself, is probably what is meant by a 
sumptuous banquet in the East, and, if so, it well de- 
serves the name. As the song continued, one after 
another took out a handkerchief of spotless white, 
and folding it into a triangular form, began to fan the 
gentleman in front of her. This is indeed Eastern 
luxury, I said to myself, and while I was wondering 
what would come next, the damsel behind the Resident 
reached forward and gave liun a loud kiss on his cheek. 
"That was intended as an appetizer I presume?" 
JSfatuurlijh^ "Of course," he rej)lied, and I leaned 
back in my chair to give way to a hearty laugh, which 
I had been trying for a long time to restrain, when 



AN OSCULATORY SALUTE. 19 3 

suddenly I was astonislied by a similar salutation on 
tlie lips ! It was done so quickly that I liad no time 
to recover from my bewildering surprise, and coolly 
explain tliat sucL. was not tlie custom in my land. 
Instead of my laugliing at tlie Resident's expense, 
the whole party laughed at mine ; but my confusion 
was dispelled by the assurance of all that even the 
governor-general himself had to submit to such treat- 
ment when he came to ins23ect these islands. Besides, 
I was made aware that the fault was largely my own, 
and that, when I leaned backward to laugh, the fair 
one behind me had misinterpreted the movement as 
a challenge (which she certainly seemed not loath to 
accept). At every village we had to run a similar 
gantlet, and I must confess that several times it oc- 
curred to me that the youngest member of the party 
certainly received his share of such tender attention, 
and that many of these^ beauties, noma itum, were de- 
termined to improve their present opportunity for 
fear that they might never again have the privilege 
of kissing a gentleman -with a white face. 

The Resident's duties, while on a tour of inspection, 
consist chiefly in visiting and examining the schools, 
of which there is one in every village on this island, 
except at one place where two kampongs, whicl^ are 
near each other, have one in common. On Saparua 
also thirteen out of the sixteen villages are each 
provided with a school, and on Haruku eleven vil- 
lages are supplied with six schools, so distributed 
over the island as to be accessible to all. The facili- 
ties, therefore, afforded by the Dutch Government to 
these natives to acquire a good common education are 

13 



194 TRA.VELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

far better tlian they are in many civilized lands. The 
teachers are all well paid. Those on this island are 
all natives. They are remarkably awkward, proba- 
bly because they feel dressed up ; for, on such an im- 
portant occasion as the present, every one who holds 
a government office mnst appear in a black suit. 
Again and again I found it required great self-com- 
mand to keep from smiling when it was expected I 
should look very grave and dignified ; for here, on the 
outskirts of civilization, I beheld all the fashions of 
Europe, apparently for the last two hundred years. 
All the j)etty officials wore dress coats, some with tails 
almost on the ground, and others with sleeves so long 
that you could scarcely see the ends of the fingers, 
and still others with the waists so small that they 
seemed to be in corsets. Some of these coats had 
narrow collars, and had evidently been worn by the 
most dainty exquisites, while others had lapels 
broad enough for the outer coat of a coachman. As 
soon as the inspection is over these precious articles 
are carefully rolled up and thoroughly smoked, to 
prevent their being destroyed by the ants. They are 
then placed away till the next year, when they are 
again unrolled and at once put on, entirely filled with 
wrinkles, and giving out the strongest odors. 

On entering the school-house the Resident is 
greeted with a welcome that has been pre23ared long 
before by the teacher and committed to memory by 
a small boy, who now ste]3S forward, and, stretching 
out both arms at full length, repeats the oration at 
the top of his voice, occasionally emphasizing certain 
sentences by making a low bow, but taking care all 



NATIVE SCHOOLS. 



195 



the time not to bend Ms extended arms. TMs ordeal 
finislied, tlie children join in singing a psalm, all 
keeping time hj striking the forefinger of the right 
hand with the palm of the left. It was most amusing 
to see the little ones perform their part of the cere- 
mony. The four classes, into which the schools are 
divided, are now successively examined. The two 
younger classes in reading and spelling the Malay 
language, written in the Roman alphabet, according 
to the Dutch rules of pronunciation. The two older 
classes are likewise examined in these branches, in 
penmanship, and the simple rules of arithmetic. 

As I visited school after school I became more 
and more surprised at the general proficiency of the 
children, and I am certainly of the opinion that they 
would compare very favorably with the children of 
the same ages in our own country districts. This 
remarkable promise in childhood is not, however, 
followed by a corresponding development during 
youth and manhood. 

The population* of these islands is divided into 
the following kinds : first, that of Europeans, which 
also includes the mestizoes, or, as they are always 
called here, " half-castes," who are of all shades of 
mixture, from those who are as white as Europeans 
to those who are as brown as the natives. Outside 

* In 1855 the population of the islands east of Amboina was thus di- 
^'ided; and so little change has occurred that these figures closely repre- 
sent the relative numbers of each class at the present time : 





Mestizoes. 


Burgers. 


Villagers, 


Slaves. 






Christians. 


Mohammedans. 






88 

162 

4 


288 

2,913 

63 


3,204 
7,340 
3,386 


3,544 
1,154 


64 

97 
26 


7,188 




11,665 


Nusalaut 


3,479 



196 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

of the city of Amboina nine-tentlis of tlie so-called 
Europeans are really mestizoes. The second class is 
composed of those natives who are not required hj 
the government to work in the clove-gardens. They 
are named by the Dutch " burgers." The third class 
includes the negroijvoTken or "villagers," and the 
fourth comprises those who were slaves, and are 
mostly natives of Papua. The " villagers," or com- 
mon people, have j^aid no direct tax, but have been 
required instead to work a certain number of days in 
the clove-gardens belonging to the government, and 
also sell to the government all they raise themselves 
at a certain price. Now the Dutch are changing 
this indirect mode of taxation into a direct mode, and 
requiring the able-bodied men to pay one guilder 
each this year, but not obliging them to work so 
many days in the gardens. Next year they are to 
pay two guilders and work a less number of days, 
and so on till the fifth year, when they will pay five 
guilders, and be entirely free from any other tax. 

After the examination of the school has been fin- 
ished, all the able-bodied men are called together be- 
fore the rajah's house, and the Resident explains to 
them this change, and what will be expected of them 
during the coming year. At present each village is 
obliged to furnish men at a certain 23rice to carry the 
chair of every official and of every one who, like my- 
self, has an order for such a privilege from the head 
government at Batavia. In four years from this time 
each official will be obliged to make a separate trade 
at every village with his chair-bearers, and these peo- 
ple are so indolent, and so given to demanding the 



CARPE DIEM. 



197 



most extravagant prices, tliat I fear the cliief effect 
of this change will be to diminish even the little 
travel and trade there are now, unless the present 
system shall be continued till large numbers of horses 
are introduced. 

This proposed taxation will certainly be very 
light, for each man can earn the five guilders required 
of him by canying coal or freight for a week at the 
city of Amboina. 

The great obstacle to every reform among these 
natives is, that only a very few of them, if they have 
enough for one day, will earn any thing for the mor- 
row. " Gar]^6 diem " is a motto more absolutely ob- 
served here than in luxurious Eome. The desire of 
all Europeans to have something reserved for sick- 
ness or old age is a feeling which these people appear 
to never experience, and such innate improvidence is, 
unfortunately, encouraged from their earliest child- 
hood by the unfailing and unsparing manner in which 
Nature supplies their limited wants. The possi- 
bility of a famine is something they cannot compre- 
hend. 

In 1854, 120,283 Amsterdam pounds of cloves 
were raised on this island from 13,042 trees, each 
tree yielding the great quantity of nine pounds. In 
the same year, on Saparua, from 29,732 fruit-trees, 
181,137 Amsterdam pounds were gathered, one-third 
of the whole crop (510,912 pounds) obtained that 
year in Amboina, Haruku, Saparua, and Nusalaut. 
On Haruku 38,803 pounds were gathered that year. 
These three islands, Haruku, Saparua, and Nusalaut, 
with the neighboring south coast of Ceram, form one 



198 TKAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

residency, over wMcli an assistant resident or resi- 
dent of the second rank is placed. 

From Lainitu we passed along the northern shore 
to ISTullahia, where we remained for the night. Here 
I purchased many beautiful " harp-shells " and a few 
large cones, which were formerly so rare that they 
have been sold in Europe for more than two hundred 
dollars apiece. The next day we continued on to 
Amet, the largest li,mn^ong on the island. Here a 
good missionary was located, who was indeed like 
Melchisedek, "both priest and king." From this 
place he i^ accustomed to travel to the various vil- 
lages, preaching, teaching, and keeping a general sur- 
veillance over the conduct of his people, and the good 
results of his labor were well shown in the general 
spirit of thrift and order which characterizes these 
villages as compared to the Mohammedan kampongs 
I had previously visited on the shores of Amboina. 
Every person in all these villages is nominally a 
Christian, and this, I believe, is the only island in the 
archipelago of which that can be said. The mission- 
ary, however, informs me that a few of them occa- 
sionally steal away to some secret place among the 
mountains where they practise their ancient rites by 
making offerings to spirits, possibly those of their 
ancestors, which they were accustomed to worship 
before the introduction of Christianity. 

The village of Amet is one of the best places in 
the whole Moluccas to gather shells. The platform 
of coral which begirts the island extends out here 
nearly two English miles from high- water level to 
where the heavy swell breaks along its outer edge ; 



THE WAVES BREAKING ON A CORAL REEF. I99 

and all this flat area is either bare at low tide, or 
only covered to the depth of a few inches by small 
pools. Here the beautiful "mitre-shells" abound — 
the Mitra episcopalis^ or "Bishop's mitre," and the 
Mitra papcdis^ or " Pope's mitre," and many beauti- 
ful cones and cyprseas. 

From Amet to Abobo, at the southern end of the 
island, a distance of more than a mile, the coral plat- 
form narrows until it is quite near the high- water 
line. Along the whole length of this reef the heavy 
swell from the ocean is seen rising again and again 
into one grand wall, which, slowly curling its high 
white crest, plunges headlong over the soft polyps, 
which, despite the utmost efforts of the ocean, slowly 
but continually advance their wondrous structure 
seaward. This endless lashing and washing of the 
waves, which would wear away the most adaman- 
tine rocks, only enables those delicate animals to 
work with a greater vigor, and this is probably the 
chief reason that the reef here is wider than anywhere 
else along the shores of the neighboring islands. 

Between Amet and Abobo there is sometimes 
found a very beautiful cone, covered with mottled 
bands of black and salmon-color, which once com- 
manded fabulous prices in Europe, and is now gen- 
erally regarded by the natives as the most valuable 
shell obtained in these seas. Although I travelled 
along nearly all the shores of the adjacent islands, I 
was continually assured that this part of Nusalaut 
was the only place where this shell was ever found, 
an assertion which I regard as true, so sparing is 
Nature of her choicest treasures. 



200 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

Returning from AboLo to NuUaliia and Lainitu, 
I took a small pran. for Saparua. The monsoon was 
light and tlie sea smooth at first, but when again we 
approached Tanjong O, which these natives always 
spoke of with the same respect that our sailors speak 
of Cape Horn, v/e found a very strong current set- 
ting in one direction, while the wind had freshened 
from the opposite quarter. The meeting of the 
vnnd and current made the waves rise irregularly up 
in pyramids and tumble over in every direction. The 
natives, apparently half terrified, stripped off their 
clothes, as if they expected that the boat would cer- 
tainly be swamped, and that soon their only chance 
of escape would be to swim to the shore and attem|)t 
to climb up the ragged rocks through the surf ; but I 
encouraged them to paddle with all their might, and 
though several waves broke over us, we went safely 
through. As soon as the danger was past, each na- 
tive frequently looked back and boastfully shook his 
head, as if to taunt the evil spirit that dwells on this 
dangerous headland. 

When we arrived at Saparua, I found the Resident 
just on the point of starting for the neighboring 
coast of Ceram, and only waiting to invite me to ac- 
company him. So again I was in good fortune, for I 
had not anticipated reaching that almost unknown 
island. From the southern bay we were taken in 
chairs across the isthmus, that connects the two main 
parts of Saparua, to the north bay. It was now night, 
but we continued along the east side of this bay to 
the kampong NoUot, at the northern end of the island, 
the nearest point to the paii; of Ceram we were to 



CERAM. 201 

visit. Scores of natives followed us, some to relieve 
eacli otlier as cliair-bearers, and otters to carry im- 
mense torches of dry palm-leaves, whicli successively 
blazed brightly for a moment and lighted up the ad- 
joining forests and our strange party. Several vil- 
lages lay along our route, and, as we entered each, 
huge piles of leaves were set on fire, and the half- 
naked natives all whooped and shouted until we 
really seemed to be in the midst of the infernal re- 
gions. 

At daylight the next morning we started in two 
praus for Ceram, As we left the rajah's house the 
beauties of the villages gathered on the bank, and, 
while we were embarking, chanted a song of hope 
that we should have " a pleasant voyage over the 
sea, and soon return in safety." The tifa and gongs 
began the monotonous din, the rowers shouted and 
tugged at their oars, and the high peaks of Saparua 
slowly sank beneath the horizon. For a time no ■ 
land was in sight, and I could but note how j)erfect- 
ly we were repeating the experience of the earliest 
navigators of the Mediterranean along the shores of 

/hoenicia and Greece. 
Ceram is the largest island in the Moluccas. 
Its length is one hundred and sixty-two geographi- 
cal miles, but its greatest breadth is only forty. 
Its area is computed to be about five thousand geo- 
graphical square miles, which makes it rank next to 
Celebes in the whole archipelago. It is divided into 
three peninsulas by two deep bays on its southern 
coast. The most eastern of these great inlets of the 
sea is called Elpaputi Bay, which separates the west- 



202 TRAVELS m THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

ern end of tlie island from the eastward. Tlie west- 
ern third is again divided into two unequal peninsulas 
by the bay of Tanuno. The westernmost is called 
Howamowel, or " Little Ceram," and is connected with 
the middle peninsula, Kaibobo, by an isthmus less 
than a mile broad. Kaibobo is again connected with 
the eastern two-thirds of the island by an isthmus 
about three miles broad. The whole island is really 
but one great mountain-chain, which sends off many 
transverse ranges and spurs, and the only low land it 
contains is east of the bay of Amahai, along its south- 
ern shore. In the western peninsula the mountains 
do not have any considerable height, but in the 
middle one some peaks attain an elevation of five 
thousand or six thousand feet, and in the middle 
part of the eastern peninsula Mount Nusaheli is sup- 
posed to rise more than three thousand metres (nine 
thousand eight hundred and forty-two English feet) 
above the sea. Over all these elevations stretches one 
continuous and unbroken forest. So great a part of 
the whole island is unknown that various and widely 
different estimates of its population have been made.* 
Some of its peaks now became visible through the 
mist, and soon we were in Elpaputi Bay, and, chang- 
ing our course toward the east, entered a small inlet 
called the bay of Amahai. \ At the head of this bay 
is the small village of the same name, containing a 
population of thirteen hundred souls. The contro- 

* In. 1854 the western part that is included in the residency of Hila 
was supposed to contain a popuhition of two thousand four hundred and 
sixty-eight; the middle peninsula and the bay visited on this voyage, 
twenty-four thousand one hundred and ninety-four ; the northern coast 



THE HEAD-HUNTERS OF CERAM. 203 

leur stationed liere told us of tlie "Alfura"* wlio 
dwelt among tlie neighboring mountains ; and, tliat 
I might have the opportunity of seeing these wild 
savages, the Resident kindly sent a number of the 
coast people to invite them to come down and per- 
form their war-dance before us. In a few hours a 
party of about twenty appeared. Only eight or ten 
were able-bodied men ; the others were women, chil- 
dren, and old men. In height and general appear- 
ance they closely resemble the Malays, and evidently 
form merely a subdivision of the Malay race. Their 
peculiar characteristics are the darker color of their 
skins and of their hair, which, instead of being lank 
like that of the Malays, is crisp, but not woolly like 
that of the Papuans. They wear it so very long, that 
they may properly be said to have large and bushy 

under Wahai, forty thousand nine hundred and twenty-five ; and, in tlie 
great area east of Elpaputi Bay, it was supposed tliat tliere dwelt between 
twenty-one and twenty-two thousand ; making a total of eighty-nine 
thousand and eighty-seven, about ninety thousand ; but Dr. Bleeker, who 
gives these figures, thinks there are half as many more people among 
the mountains, and that the whole population of the island should be 
put down at one hundred and fifty thousand. Ite gives the population 
of these islands for 1855 in round numbers as follows : 

Amboina.: 29,500 Amblau 1,000 Manipa TOO 

Haraku 7,900 Bonoa 1,500 Saparaa 11,600 

Buru 9,200 Nusalaut 3,500 Ceram 150,000 

Total -. 214,200 

These figures may be regarded as good estimates of the population at the 
present time. 

* This name Alfura, in Dutch Alfoera, is also written Alfora, Alafora, 
Arafura, and Halafora. Mr. Crawfurd finds that it is composed of the 
Arabic articles alor^ eZ, and the preposition/ora, without ; and was simply 
a general denomination given by the Portuguese when they were su- 
preme in the Moluccas to all the native inhabitants who were without 
the pale of their authority. 



204 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

heads. Wlien in full dress, however, this abundance 
of hair is confined by a red handkerchief, obtained 
from the natives on the coast, and ornamented v^ith 
parts of a small shell, the JS^assa, in place of beads. 
Their clothing is a strip of the inner bark of a 
tree beaten with stones until it becomes white and 
opaque, and appears much like white, rough paper. 
This garment is three or four inches wide and about 
three feet long. It passes rormd the waist and covers- 
the loins in such a way that one end hangs down in 
front as far as the knee. On the arm, above the 
elbow, some wore a large ring, apparently made from 
the stalk of a sea-fan, Gorgonia. To this were fastened 
bunches of long, narrow green leaves, striped with 
yellow. Similar ornaments were fastened to the el- 
bows and to the strip of bark at the waist. Each 
of the warriors was armed with &j parang or cleaver, 
which he raised high in the right hand, while on his 
left arm was a shield three or four feet long but only 
four or five inches wide, which he held before him as 
if to ward off an imaginary blow. Their dance was 
merely a series of short leaps forward and backward, 
and occasionally whirling quickly round as if to de- 
fend themselves from a sudden attack in the rear. 
Their only musical instrument was a rude tifa, which 
was accompanied by a monotonous song from the 
women, children, and old men. At first the time of 
the music was slow, but by degrees it grew quicker 
and louder, until all sang as fast and loud as they 
could. The dancing warriors became more excited, 
and flourished their cleavers and leaped to and fro 
with all their might, until, as one of our company 



BLOODY LAWS OF THE ALFURA. 205 

remarked, tlieir eyes were like fire. It was easy to 
understand that in suck a state of temporary madness 
tkey would no more kesitate to cleave off a kead tkan 
to cut down a bamboo. Tkey are far-famed " kead- 
kunters." It is a custom tkat kas become a law 
among tkem tkat every young man must at least cut 
off one human liead hefore he can marry. Heads, 
tkerefore, are in great demand, and perkaps our 
realization of tkis fact made tkese frenzied savages 
appear tke more skocking specimens of kumanity. 
Tke kead of a ckild will meet tke inexorable demands 
of tkis bloody law, but tke kead of a woman is pre- 
ferred, because it is supposed ske can more easily de- 
fend kerself or escape ; for tke same reason tke kead 
of a man is keld in kigker estimation, and tke kead 
of a wkite man is a proof of tke greatest bravery, 
and tkerefore tke most glorious tropky. 

On tke nortk coast, near Sawai Bay, tke Dutck, 

a few years ago, kad a war witk tkese natives, and 

wken tkey kad driven tkem to tke mountains, tkey 

found in tkeir kuts between two and tkree times 

as many kuman skulls as it is probable tkere were 

people in tke wkole village, men, women, and ckil- 

dren taken togetker. Wken a man is afraid to go 

out on suck a kimt alone, ke invites or kires two 

or tkree otkers to assist kim, and all lie in wait 

near a neigkboring village until some one ckances to 

pass by, wken tkey spring out and dispatck tkeir 

victim, and escape. Tkis, of course, creates a deadly 

enmity between eack tribe and every otker near it ; 

and tke wkole interior of tke eastern kalf of tke 

island, wkere tkis kead-kunting prevails, is one un- 



206 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

changing scene of endless, bloody strife. The same 
custom prevails over the greater part of the interior 
of Borneo among many tribes known as Dyaks, the 
Malay word for " savage," There only the heads of 
men are valued, and new ones must be obtained to 
celebrate every birth and funeral, as well as mar- 
riage. I have seen a necklace of human teeth made 
in that island by those people. Small holes had 
been drilled in several scores of them, which were 
then strung on a vdre long enough to pass two or 
three times round the neck of the hero who wore it. 
When, a head is secured, the brains are taken out, 
and it is placed over a fire to be smoked and dried. 
During this process, the muscles of the face contract 
and change the features until they assume a most 
ghastly grimace. 

The dance being finished, we conversed with 
them as well as we could about their customs, for 
none of them could speak but a few words in Malay. 
On the piece of paper-like bark which hangs down 
in front, each warrior makes a circle when he cuts 
off a head. Some had one or two of these circles ; 
but one man had four, and I gave him to understand 
that I knew what they meant by drawing my hand 
four times across my throat, and then holding up 
the fingers of one hand, and instantly he hopped 
about as delighted as a child, thinking that of course 
I was regarding him as the bravest of the brave, 
while I looked at him in mute astonishment, and 
tried to realize what a hardened villain he was. 
Our North American savages are civilized men com- 
pared to these fiends in human form. 




p. 20G. 



A DYAK OR HEAD-HUNTER OF BORNEO. 

From a photograph. 



LANDING THROUGH THE SURF. 20Y 

From Amaliai we sailed westward across Elpa- 
puti Bay to tlie peninsula already described as re- 
joicing in tlie melodious name of Kaibobo. Here, at 
a small village, a native of Amboina liad established 
Mmself, and commenced planting cocoa-trees, wMcli 
we found thriving most satisfactorily, even better 
tlian in tlie gardens I liad previously visited on Am- 
boina. At tlie present prices this is tlie most profit- 
able product tliat can be raised in tlie Moluccas, and 
the good result of this trial shows what enormous 
quantities might be shipped yearly from this single ^ 
great island of Ceram, if foreigners or natives would 
devote themselves to its culture. 

Near by were two villagers of Alfura, who had 
been induced to abandon their old habits of roaming 
among the mountains and make for themselves a fixed 
dwelling- j)lace. The rajah of each place came to 
the village where we landed, to acknowledge his 
alleo;iance to the Dutch Government. From that 
place we proceeded southward along the eastern 
shore of the peninsula. While we were in the bay, 
the opposite shore sheltered us from the heavy south- 
easterly swell that now rolled in before a driving 
rain-storm, and made our round-bottomed ^t'^'WS roll 
and pitch so that the rowers could scarcely use their 
oairs. At length, near night, we came to anchor off 
a village that the Resident was obliged to visit. It 
was situated on a straight, open beach, which de- 
scended so abruptly beneath the sea, that the high 
swell never once broke before finding itself suddenly 
stopped in its rapid course ; it rose up in one huge 
wall that reeled forward and fell on the steep shore 



208 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

witTi a roar like lieavy tliunder. Altliougli I was 
born by tlie sliore of tlie open sea, and liad seen boats 
land in all kinds of weather, I never saw the most 
daring sailors attempt it througk suck a surf as was 
breaking before us. Every few moments tke water 
would rebound from tke sand until it rose twice and 
a kalf as kigk as tke natives standing near it, at least 
fifteen feet. One of our number could not conceal Ms 
timidity, and declared tkat every one of us would 
be drowned if we skould attempt to land at tkat 
time. Tke Resident, kowever, said ke skould try it, 
and I assured kim ke skould not go alone; and tke 
otkers concluded not to allow tkemselves to be left 
bekind. More tkan two kundred natives kad now 
gatkered on tke beack. Tkey soon made a rude 
skid or wide ladder, witk large poles on tke sides, 
and small green ones witk tke bark torn off for tke 
rounds, Tkis was laid down wken tke wave was 
forming, and a keavy prau pusked on to it as tke 
wave broke, and a broad skeet of surf partially 
buoyed ker up. As tkis wave receded, ske was suc- 
cessfully launcked. We were now ordered to ckange 
from our boat into tkat one, and at once Ave ran in 
toward tke skore over tke keavy rollers. Otker na- 
tives now appeared on tke beack witk a kuge coil 
of rattan an inck or more in diameter, and, two 'or 
tkree of tkem seizing one end, ran down and plunged 
keadlong into a kigk wave as coolly and as unkesi- 
tatingly as a diver would leap from tke side of a 
boat in a quiet bay. Tke end of tke rattan was fast- 
ened firmly to tke front part of our boat ; tke otker 
was carried up a long way on tke beack, and tke na- 



A CONVIVIAL OF THE HEAD-HUNTERS. 209 

tives ranged themselves in two rows, eacli grasping 
it witli one hand, as if ready to liaul in the leviathan 
himself, when the warning should be given. A 
number of heavy seas now rolled in and broke, but 
the natives, by means of their paddles, kept us from 
being swept forward or backward. A smaller swell 
is coming in now. Every native gives a wild yell, 
and those on the shore haul in the rattan with all 
their might, and away we dart on the crest of a 
wave with the swiftness of an arrow. We are now 
in the midst of the surf, and our boat is on the skid, 
but away we glide at the speed of a locomotive, and 
already we are high upon the bank before the next 
wave can come in. 

The Resident, who enjoyed surprising me as 
much as possible, had carefully concealed the urgent 
business that had compelled him to land in such a 
difficult place, and my curiosity was not diminished 
when I noticed his imperative orders for the militia, 
who accompanied us as a guard, to come on shore 
immediately. We were evidently near, or already 
in, an enemy's country. A large gathering of the 
natives was now ordered at the rajah's house, an 
examination began, and several men were sentenced 
to be seized by the guard and brought to Amboina 
for trial. They had been guilty of participating in a 
feest hahian^ or meeting of a secret organization, that 
was formed as early at least as a few years after the 
arrival of the Dutch. There are various opinions as 
to its object, some asserting that it originated as a 
confederation of many tribes against other tribes, and 
others supposing its design to be to resist the author- 

]4 



210 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

ity of the Dutch, tlie view apparently entertained by 
that government. 

But a short time before we arrived they had held 
one of their drunken revels at a place only half an 
hour's walk among the neighboring mountains. In 
these convivials at first each indulges as freely as he 
chooses in an intoxicating liquor made from the juice 
of the flowering part of a palm; then all join in a 
dance, and kick about a human head which has been 
obtained for this especial occasion, and is tossed into 
the midst of these human fiends all besmeared with 
its own clotted blood. The natives whom our sol- 
diers were seizing were present and took part in one 
of these bloody carousals, as they themselves acknowl- 
edged. I must confess that a sickening sensation, 
akin to fear, crept over me that night before I fell 
asleep, as I realized the probability that, if it were 
not for our guard, instead of our taking away those 
culprits to be punished as they richly deserved, they 
would sever every one of our heads and have an- 
other diabolical revel over their bloody trophies. 

All night the wind 23iped loudly in strong gusts, 
and the heavy pulsating of the surf came up from the 
beach beneath us. In the morning the storm had 
not abated, but I was anxious to go back to Amboina, 
and no one of the party desired to remain long in 
that savage place. To embark was more difficult 
than to land. Again the skid was put down on the 
sand, the prau placed on it, and as the water receded 
the natives pushed us off, several waves sweeping 
over their heads ; but they were so completely am- 
phibious, that it did not appear to trouble them in the 



LIFE AT AMBOINA. 211 

least. Unfortunately, a strong gust struck us just as 
we floated, and for some minutes we remained mo- 
tionless in one spot, the sea rolling up until wliat 
Virgil says, witli a poet's license, was literally true 
of us, tlie naked earth could be seen beneath our 
keel. 

Again all that day we pitched and tossed, and 
the distance we had to go seemed endless, until, as 
the sun sank, the high land of Saparua rose before us 
and we entered a broad bay. The natives saw us 
coming, and quickly kindled on the shore huge blazing 
fires, which were repeated in the form of long bands 
of bright light on the mirror-like surface of the quiet 
sea, and now we were welcomed with shouts to the 
same place where the native belles had sung such a 
plaintive song at our departure. 

From Saparua I returned directly to Amboina, 
for one who has been accustomed to the mail facili- 
ties of our land will subject himself to almost any 
inconvenience in order to reach the place where the 
mail-boat touches. 

Life at Amboina, and at almost every other place 
in the Dutch possessions, at the best is dull. Once 
or twice a month, in accordance with an established 
custom, the governor gives a reception on Sunday 
evenings, when all the Europeans and most of the 
mestizoes come and dance till late ; and as there are 
some seven hundred of these people in the city, and 
the larger' portion attend, such parties are quite bril- 
liant affairs. The music is furnished by a small band 
connected with the detachment of soldiers stationed 
here. 



212 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

An occasional wedding also helps to break up 
tlie unvarying monotony, and kindly furnislies a 
topic for general conversation, so tliat for a time every, 
one does not feel obliged to complain of tlie abun- 
dance of rain, if it is tlie rainy season, or of tlie lack 
of rain if it is tke dry monsoon. Whenever an official 
goes back to Holland, or is transferred from one place 
to another, whicli usually occurs once in three years, 
even when he is not promoted, he sells most of his 
furniture at auction. His friends always muster in 
full force, and each one is expected to show his at- 
tachment to his departing friend by purchasing a 
number of articles, or something of little value, at ten 
or a hundred times its price. Such an occasion also 
gives a change to the talk among merchants. 

An auction here, instead of being a kind of pri- 
vate trade, as with us, is directly under the manage- 
ment of the government. An authorized auctioneer 
is regularly appointed at each place, and a scribe 
carefally enters the name of the successful bidder, 
the article he has purchased, and the price. Three 
months of grace are allowed before such a bill be- 
comes due, but then the buyer must at once pay the 
sum due or make some arrangement satisfactory to 
the seller. When natives, whose assets are always 
limited, have purchased a number of articles, the 
scribe frequently takes upon himself the responsibility 
of orderinsf them not to bid ao;ain. 



CHAPTER VIL 



BAISTDA. 



Two montlis had now passed since I arrived 
at Amlboina, and I had not only collected all the 
shells figured in Eumphius's " Rariteit Kamer," which 
I had come to seek, but more than twice as many 
species besides. I was therefore ready to visit some 
other locality, and turn my attention to a different 
branch of natural history. During all the time I 
had been gathering and arranging my collection, Gov- 
ernor Arriens had frequently honored me with a visit, 
and, as I was finishing my work, he called again, this 
time to give me a pleasant surprise. He had a fine 
steam-yacht, of three or four hundred tons. It was 
necessary that he should go to Banda, and he took it 
for granted that I would accompany him. If I had 
planned for myself, what could I have desired more ; 
but he added that, when his yacht, the Telegraph, re- 
turned, there would be an item of business for her to 
do on the north coast of Ceram, which I should also 
visit, though alone, and that, when she returned to 
Amboina a second time, we would go together to Ter- 
nate, and, taking the Resident stationed there, proceed 
to the north coast of Papua — a royal programme. 



214 TRAVELS m THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

Sept. 7th. — At 5 p. m. steamed down tlie beautiful 
bay of Amboina for Banda. Our company is com- 
posed of tlie governor, wlio is going on a tour of 
inspection, our captain, myself, an " officer of jus- 
tice," and a lieutenant witli a detachment of soldiers 
in charge of a native of Java, who is sentenced to be 
hanged as soon as we reach our port. The worst of 
the rainy season is now over, and this evening is 
cool, clear, and delightful. 

Early the next morning Banda appeared on the 
horizon, or more correctly the Bandas — for they are 
ten in number. The largest, Lontar, or Great Banda, 
is a crescent-shaped island, about six miles long and 
a mile and a half wide in the broadest parts. The 
eastern horn of its crescent turns toward the north 
and the other points toward the west. In a prolon- 
gation of the former lie Pulo Pisang, "Banana Isl- 
and," and Pulo Kapal, " Ship Island." The first is 
about two-thirds of a mile long, and half as wide ; 
the last is merely a rock about three hundred feet 
high, and somewhat resembling the poop of a ship, 
hence its name. Within the circle of which these 
islands form an arc, lie three other islands. The 
highest and most remarkable is the Gunong Api,* or 
" Burning Mountain," a conical, active volcano, about 
two thousand three hundred feet high. Between Gu- 
nong Api and the northern end of Lontar lies Banda 
Neira, about two miles long and less than a mile 



* This Gunong Api must not be confounded witla another similar 
volcano of the same name north of "Wetta, and still another near 
the western end of Sumbawa, at the northern entrance to the Sapi 
Strait. 



DISCOVEEY OF THE MOLUCCAS. 215 

"broad. Nortlieast of tlie latter is a small rock called 
Pulo Krakka, or " Women's Island." 

The centre of tke circle of wkick Lontar is an 
arc falls in a narrow passage called Sun Strait, which 
separates Gunong Api from Banda Neira. The di- 
ameter of this circle is about six miles. Without 
it, another concentric circle may be drawn, which 
will pass through Pulo Ai, " Water Island," on the 
west, and Rosengain in the southwest ; and outside 
of this a thuxl concentric circle, which will pass 
through Swangi, " Sorcery or Spirit Island," on the 
northwest, Pulo Eun (Rung), " Chamber Island," on 
the west, and the reef of Rosengain on the southwest. 
The total area of the whole group is seventeen and 
six-tenths geographical square miles. 

The first European who reached these beautiful 
and long-sought islands was D'Abreu, a Portuguese, 
but he cannot correctly be styled their discoverer, for 
the Arabs and Chinese, and probably the Hindus, 
had been trading here for years before his arrival, as 
De Barros informs us D'Abreu, while on his way, 
touched at Gresik, in Java, to procure " Javanese and 
Malay pilots who had made this voyage," and he 
further adds : " Every year there repair to Lutatam " 
(Lontar) " Javanese and Malays to load cloves, nut- 
megs, and mace ; for this place is in the latitudes 
most easily navigated, and where ships are most safe, 
and as the cloves of the Moluccas are brought to it 
by vessels of the country, it is not necessary to go to 
the latter in search of them. In the five islands now 
named" (Lontar, Rosengain, Ai, Run, and Neira), 
" grow all the nutmegs consumed in every part of the 



216 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

world." A proof of tlie correctness of a part of De 
Barros's statements is seen in tlie names of tlie different 
islands, whicli are all of Malay or Javanese origin. 
The population at tliat time was given at fifteen thou- 
sand, which, if correct, would have made this group 
far more densely peopled than any island or number 
of islands in the whole archipelago is at the present 
day. Their personal appearance and form of govern- 
ment are thus minutely described by De Barros : 
" The people of these islands are robust, with a tawny 
complexion and lank hair, and are of the worst repute 
in these parts. They follow the sect of Mohammed, 
and are much addicted to trade, their women per- 
forming the labors of the field. They have neither 
king nor lord, and all their government depends on 
the advice of their elders ; and as these are often at 
variance, they quarrel among themselves. The land 
has no other export than the nutmeg. This tree is 
in such abundance that the land is full of it, without 
its being planted by any one, for the earth yields 
without culture. The forests which produce it be- 
long to no one by inheritance, but to the people in 
common. When June and September come, which 
are the months for gathering the crop, the nutmegs 
are allotted, and he who gathers most has most 
profit." * The fact that the natives were Mohamme- 
dans may be regarded as a proof that they were in 
advance of the other nations, who continued in hea- 
thenism, and their daring and determination are well 
shown in their long contest with the Dutch. 

For nearly a hundred years the Portuguese monop- 

* De Barros, in Crawfurd's " Dictionaiy of the India Islands." 



NATIVES EXTERMINATED BY THE DUTCH. 21T 

olized the trade of these islands, and appear to have 
generally kept on good terms with the natives, but in 
1609 the Dutch appeared with seven hundred troops, 
as large a force — Mr. Crawfurd pointedly remarks 
— as Cortez had with which to subjugate all Mexico. 
The admiral commanding this exjoedition, and forty- 
five of his companions, were taken by an ambuscade, 
and all slain. The Dutch then began a war of exter- 
mination, which lasted eighteen years, and was only 
brought to an end by a large expedition from Java, 
conducted by the governor-general in person. Dur- 
ing this long contest the natives are said to have 
lost three thousand killed and a thousand prisoners, 
or more than a fourth part of what has been stated 
as their whole number when the Dutch arrived. 
All who were left alive fled to the neighboring 
islands, and not a vestige of their language or pecu- 
liar customs is known to exist at the present time. 

The Dutch were thus left sole possessors of the 
coveted prize, but there were no natives to cultivate 
the nutmeg-trees, and they were therefore obliged to 
import slaves to do their labor. When slavery was 
abolished in the Dutch possessions, convicts were 
sent from Java to make up the deficiency, and at this 
time there are about three thousand of them in all 
these islands. Most of them are in Lontar and 
ISTeira. They are a most villanous-looking set, and 
have nearly all been guilty of the bloodiest crimes. 
They are obliged to wear around the neck a large iron 
ring, weighing a pound or a pound and a half. It is 
bent round, and then welded, so that it can only be 
taken off by means of a file. It is not so heavy that 



218 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

it is difficult for tliem to carry, but is designed, like 
tlie State-prison dress in our country, to sliow tliat 
tliey are common felons. The one on board our 
sliip, wlio will be executed on our arrival, killed a 
secretary of tlie government — a European — ^in cold 
blood, at Banda, wkere lie bad already been banisbed 
for murder, like most of Ms fellows. Tbe secretary, 
having occasion to arrange some papers in a box at 
tbe farther end of bis room, noticed tbis common 
coolie disturbing some letters on bis desk, and natu- 
rally ordered bim to let tbem alone, and tben leaned 
forward to continue bis work. Instantly tbe Java- 
nese, without further provocation, sprang forward, 
and, striking him on the back of the head with a 
heavy cleaver, killed him on the spot. Afterward, 
when this villain was seized and tried, he could as- 
sign no other reason for his committing the murder 
than the order from his superior to attend to his 
own business. When he beard that he was sen- 
tenced to death, he coolly remarked that he cared 
very little, as they would hang him, and not take 
off his head, so that what he had done would in no 
way affect his entering Paradise ! 

In 1852 some natives came from Timur, Timur- 
laut, and the neighboring islands, to work on the 
nutmeg-plantations, or, as the Dutch prefer to call 
them, " parks." In two years these people numbered 
two hundred and thirteen, but they have not in- 
creased since to such a degree as to form a large 
fraction of the whole population. 

But while we have been glancing back over tbe 
eventftil history of the Bandas, our fast yicht has 



THE BURNING MOUNTAIN. 219 

rapidly brotiglit us nearer to tliem over the quiet, 
glassy sea. This is Pulo Ai on our right. It is 
only from three hundred to five hundred feet high, 
and, as we see from the low cliffs on its shores, is 
mostly comj)osed of coral rock. This is also said 
to be the case with the other islands outside of the 
first circle we have already described, and we notice 
that, like it, they are all comparatively low. Now 
changing our course to the east, we steam up under 
the high, steep Gunong Api. On its north-northwest 
side, about one-fourth of the distance from its sum- 
mit down to the sea, is a deep, wid^ g^lf? c>ut of 
which rise thick, opaque clouds of white gas, that 
now, in the still, clear air, are seen rolling grandly 
upward in one gigantic, expanding column to the 
sky. On its top also thin, veil-like clouds occasion- 
ally gather, and then slowly float away like cumuli 
dissolving in the pure ether. These cloud-masses 
are chiefly composed of steam and sulphurous acid 
gas, and, as they pour out, indicate what an active 
laboratory Nature has established deep within the 
bowels of this old volcano. 

The western horn of crescent-shaped Lontar is 
before us. Its shore is composed of a series of 
nearly perpendicular crags from two to three hun- 
dred feet high, but particularly on the northern or 
inner side the luxuriant vegetation of these tropical 
islands does not allow the rocks to remain naked, 
and from their crevices and upper edges hang down 
broad sheets of a bright - green, unfading verdure. 
The western entrance to the road, the one through 
which we are now passing, is between the abrupt. 



220 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

magnificent coast of Lontar on tlie riglit, and tlie 
higli, overhanging peak of Gunong Api on the left ; 
and, as we advance, they separate, and disclose to our 
view the steep and lofty wall that forms Lontar' s 
northern shore. This is covered with a dense, matted 
mass of vegetation, out of which rise the erect, col- 
umnar trunks of palms, from the crests of which, as 
from sheaves, long, feathery leaves hang over, slowly 
and gracefully oscillating in the light air, which we can 
just perceive fanning our faces. Now Banda Neira is 
in full view. It is composed of hills which gradually 
descend to the shore of this little bay. On the top 
of one near us is Fort Belgica, in form a regular 
pentagon. At the corners are bastions surmounted 
by small circular towers, so that the whole exactly 
resembles an old feudal castle. Its walls are white, 
and almost dazzling in the bright sunlight ; and 
beneath is a broad, neatly-clipped glacis, forming 
a beautiful, green, descending lawn. Below this 
defence is Fort Nassau, which was built by the 
Dutch when they first arrived in 1609, only two 
years before the foundations of Belgica were laid, 
and both fortifications have existed nearly as they 
are now for more than two and a half centuries. On 
either hand along the shore extends the chief village, 
Neira, with rows of pretty shade-trees on the bund, 
or front street, bordering the bay. Its population is 
about two thousand. In the road are a number of 
praus from Ceram, strange-looking vessels, high at 
stern, and low at the bow, and having, instead of a 
single mast, a tall tripod, which can be raised and 
lowered at pleasure. They are all poorly built, and 



THE GREAT BIRD OF PARADISE. 221 

it seems a wonder that sucli awkward boats can live 
any time in a rougli sea. A number of Bugis traders 
are also at anchor near by. Tbey are mostly herma- 
phrodite schooners, carrying a square-sail or foresail, a 
fore-topsail, and fore-royal, and evidently designed, 
like the praus, to sail only before the wind. They 
visit the eastern end of Ceram, the southwestern and 
western parts of Papua or New Guinea, the Arus, and 
most of the thousand islands between Banda, Timur, 
and Australia. When the mail-steamer that took 
me to Amboina touched here, a merchant of this 
place, who joined us, brought on board four large 
living specimens of the Fa/radisea apoda or " Great 
Bird of Paradise," which he had purchased a short 
time before from one of these traders, and was tak- 
ing with him to Europe.'^- They were all sprightly, 
and their colors had a bright, lively hue, incompar- 
ably richer than the most magnificent specimens I 
have ever seen in any museum. 

At our main truck a small flag slowly unfolds 
and displays a red ball. This indicates that the gov- 
ernor is on board, and immediately a boat comes to 
take us to the village ; but as business is not press- 
ing—as is usually the case in the East— we prefer to 
conform to the established custom in these hot lands, 
and enjoy a siesta, instead of obliging our good friends 
on shore to come out in full dress and parade in the 
scorching sunshine. 

At 5 p. M. we landed, and the Eesident politely 
conducted us to his residence. Our first excursion 

* Subsequently I learned that two of them were still living when he 
reached France. 



222 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

was to the western end of tlie opposite island, Lon- 
tar, tlie Malay name of the Palmyra palm, Borassus 
fiabelUformis. Its leaves were used as parchment 
over all the archipelago before the introduction of 
paper by the Arabs or Chinese, and in some places 
even at the present time. Lontar, as already no- 
ticed, has the form of a crescent. Its inner side is 
a steep wall, bordered at the base with a narrow 
band of low land. On the outer side from the crest 
of the wall many radiating ridges descend to the sea, 
so that its southwestern shore is a continued series 
of little points separated by small bays. The whole 
island is covered with one continuous forest of nut- 
meg and canari trees. The nutmeg-tree, Myristica 
onoscliata, belongs to the order MyristicaGecB. A foot 
above the ground the trunk is from six to ten inches 
in diameter. It branches like the laurel, and its lofti- 
est sprays are frequently fifty feet high. It is dioecious, 
that is, the pistils and the stamens are borne on differ- 
ent trees, and of course some of them are unproduc- 
tive. The fruit, before it is fully ripe, closely re- 
sembles a peach that has not yet been tinged with 
red ; but this is only a fleshy outer rind, epicarp^ 
which soon opens into two equal parts, and within 
is seen a spherical, black, polished nut, surrounded 
by a fine branching aril — the " mace " — of a bright 
vermilion. In this condition it is probably by far 
the most beautifal fruit in the whole vegetable king- 
dom. It is now picked by means of a small basket 
fastened to the end of a long bamboo. The outer 
part being removed, the mace is carefully taken off 
and dried on large, shallow bamboo baskets in the 




THE LONTAR PALM. 



r. 253. 



From a sketc'-i by Raliiea SaleU. 



CURING NUTMEGS. 223 

sun. During tliis process its briglit color clianges 
to a dull yellow. It is now ready to be packed in 
nice casks and sHipped to market. The black, sM- 
ning part, seen between the ramifications of tke ver- 
milion mace, is really a skell, and the nutmeg is 
mtkin. As soon as tke mace is removed, tke nuts 
are taken to a room and spread on shallow trays of 
open basket-work. A slow fire is tken made beneath, 
and liere they remain for three months. By the end 
of that time the nutmeg has shrunk so much that it 
rattles in its black shell. The shell is then broken, 
and the nutmegs are sorted and packed in large casks 
of teak-wood, and a brand is placed on the head of 
the cask, giving the year the fruit was gathered and 
the name of the plantation or " park " where it grew.- 
From Neira a large cutter took us swiftly over 
the bay to Selam, a small village containing the 
ruins of the old capital of the Portuguese during the 
sixteenth and early part of the seventeenth centuries, 
while their rights remained undisputed by the Dutch. 
This western end of Lontar is about four hundred 
feet high, and is composed of coral rock of a very 
recent date. Walking eastward, we next came to a 
conglomerate containing angular fragments of lava. 
This rock was succeeded on the shore of the bay 
by a fine-grained, compact lava, somewhat strati- 
fied, and this again by trachytic and basaltic lavas. 
Indeed, the whole island, except the parts described 
above, consists of these eruptive rocks, and Lontar 
may be regarded as merely a part of the walls of an 
immense crater about six miles in diameter, if it were 
circular, though its form may have been more nearly 



224 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

elliptical. Pulo Pisang and Pulo Kapal, already 
noticed as falling in tlie first circle, are two other 
fragments of tlie old crater wall. All tlie remain- 
ing parts liave disappeared beneatli ttie sea. Here, 
then, is another immense crater, greater even than 
the famous one in the Tenger Mountains in the east- 
ern part of Java, the bottom of which is covered 
with shifting, naked sand, and has been appropriately 
named by the Malays the Laut Pasar or " Sandy 
Sea." That crater is elliptical in outline, its major 
axis measuring four and a half tniles, and its minor 
axis three and a half oniles, and, though of such dimen- 
sions, its bottom is nearly a level floor of sand. Out 
of this rise four truncated cones, each containing a 
'small crater. One of these, the " Bromo " (so named 
from Brama, the Hindu god, whose emblem is fire), is 
still active. In this old crater the island Banda Neira 
represents the extinct cones rising in the " Sandy Sea," 
and Gunong Api has a perfect analogue in the active 
Bromo. The enclosed bay or road, where vessels 
now anchor in eight or nine fathoms, is the bottom 
of this old crater, and, like that in the Tenger Moun- 
tains, is comj)Osed of volcanic sand. The radiating 
ridges on the outer side of Lontar represent the simi- 
lar ridges on the sides of every volcano that is not 
building up its cone by frequent eruptions at its 
summit. Again, the islands crossed by the second 
and third circles are only so many cones on the 
flanks of this great volcano. True, those parts of 
them now above the sea are largely composed of 
coral rock like the west end of Lontar, but undoubt- 
edly the polyps began to build their* high walls on 



BEAUTIFUL GROVES. 225 

the shores of islands of lava. They are doing this 
at the present moment. Every island in the group 
is now belted with a fringing reef, except at a few 
places where the shore is a perpendicular precipice 
and the water of great depth. The western entrance, 
through which we came to the road, is already quite 
closed up by a broad reef of living coral. 

A stroll through these beautiful groves would be 
one of the richest treats a traveller could enjoy, even 
if he took no interest in the rocks beneath his feet. 
All the nutmeg-trees were loaded down with fi'uit, 
which is chiefly gathered during this month (Septem- 
ber), and again in June, though some is obtained from 
time to time throughout the year. It seemed sur- 
prising that the trees could bear so abundantly 
season after season, but the official reports show 
that there has been little variation in the annual 
yield for the last thirty years. An average crop for 
the last twenty years has been about 580,000 Am- 
sterdam pounds of nuts and 137,000 pounds of mace. 
The trees may be estimated, in round numbers, at 
450,000, of which only two-thirds bear. As the 
governor remarked to me, while I was expressing 
my wonder at the abundance of fruit on every side, 
it is, indeed, strange that the income of the govern- 
ment does not equal its expense. For this cause it 
now, for the first time, projDoses to give up its long- 
continued monopoly. Beneath the trees is spread a 
carpet of green grass, while high above -them the 
gigantic canari trees stretch out their gnarled arms 
and shield the valuable trees intrusted to their care 
from the strong winds which strive in vain to make 

15 



226 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

tliem cast off tlieir fruit before it is ripe. Sucli good 
service do tlie tall canaris render in this way, tliat 
they are planted everywhere, and when the island is 
seen from a distance, their tops quite hide the nut- 
meg-trees from view. The roots of this canari are 
most remarka,ble. They spring off from the trunk 
above the ground in great vertical sheets, which are 
frequently four feet broad where they leave the tree, 
and wind back and forth for some distance before 
they disappear beneath the soil, so that the lower 
part of one of these old trees might well be fancied 
to be a huge bundle of enormous snakes struggling 
to free themselves from a Titanic hand that held 
them firmly forever. 

As we leisurely strolled along the crest of Lon- 
tar, with a thick foliage over our heads that effect- 
ually shut out the direct rays of the sun, we occa- 
sionally caught distant views under the trees of the 
blue sea breaking into white, sparkling surf on the 
black rocks far, far beneath us. 

Soon we came to the " Lookout," known here, 
however, by the Malay name Orang Datang, " The 
people come," for it is a peculiarity of that language, 
instead of naming a place like this subjectively^ as we 
do, that is from one's own action, to name it objective- 
ly^ that is, from the result of that action. The look- 
out is placed on the edge of the interior wall, and is 
about six hundred feet above the sea. From this 
point most of the Bandas are distinctly seen in a 
single glance, and the view is undoubtedly one of 
the most charming to be enjoyed among all the isles 
of the sea. Before us was Banda Neira, with Neira 



THE ORANG DATANG. 227 

its pretty village, and to the left of tMs tlie dark, 
smoking volcano ; and beyond botk, on tke riglit, Ba- 
nana Island, wkere tke lepers live in solitary banisli- 
ment ; and still farther seaward, Skip Rock, with tke 
swell chafing its abrupt sides, while, on our left, in 
the distance, were Pulo Ai and Pulo Run, all rising 
out of the blue sea, which was only ruffled here and 
there by light breezes or flecked by shadows of the 
fleecy clouds that slowly crossed the sky. 

The next day we again went over to Lontar, and 
followed along the narrow band of low land between 
the base of the old crater- wall and the bay, visiting 
a number of the residences of the " Perkenniers," as 
the proprietors of the parks are styled. Each of 
these consisted of a rectangular area of a eighth or a 
quarter of an acre, enclosed by a high wall. The 
side next the sea is formed by the park-keeper's 
house, and on the other three sides of the great open 
yard are rows of store-houses, and the houses of the 
natives who work on that plantation. Near the 
place where we landed was a small area where all 
the mace is white when the fruit is ripe and not red. 
From the west end of the island we followed most of 
the distance round its outer shore, and then crossed 
to our landing. In the early morning, while we were 
leaving on our excursion, preparations were made in 
Fort Nassau for the execution of the Javanese we 
had brought the day before from Amboina, whither 
he had been taken to be tried for his capital crime. 
Long lines of natives, most of them women, were 
seen hurrying along to witness the shocking sight, 
apparently with exactly the same feelings they would 



228 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

liave if they were on tlieir way to some theatrical 
show. 

As the governor had now finished his duties as^ 
inspector, he proposed that we try to reach the top 
of the volcano ! As we looked up toward its high, 
dark summit, then but partially lighted by the fading 
sunset, the thought of such a dangerous undertaking 
was enough to make one shudder, and, indeed, even 
while we were sitting on the broad veranda, and 
discussing the dangers we must incur on the morrow, 
there was a sudden jar — everybody darted instantly 
down the steps — it was an earthquaJce, and no one 
knew that a shock might not come the next instant 
so severe as to lay the whole house in ruins. These 
frightful phenomena occur here, on an average, once 
a month, but, of course, no one can tell what moment 
they may occur or what destruction they may cause. 
Such is the unceasino; solicitude that all the inhabi- 
tants of these beautifal islands have to suffer. The 
governor had ascended fifteen volcanoes on Java, 
some of them with the famous Dr. Junghuhn, and 
such a slight earthquake could not shake his decision. 
But our party had to be made up anew. I promised 
the governor he should not go alone, though I could 
not anticipate the ascent without some solicitude. 
The captain of our yacht then volunteered, also a 
lieutenant, and finally, as no other shock disturbed us, 
the excursion became as popular as before, and a 
number asked permission " to go with His Excel- 
lency," a favor the governor was quite ready to grant, 
though I noticed a good-natured smile on his counte- 
nance to see such devotion and such bravery. 



ASCENDING AN ACTIVE VOLCANO. 229 

There was only one man, a native, who had ever 
been to the top and " knew the way," though from a 
distance one part of the mountain seemed as danger- 
ous as another. That man was engaged as our 
" guide," and also some ten others whose duty it was 
to carry a good supply of water in long bamboos. 
Early next morning the coolies were ready, but only 
the four of us before mentioned appeared at the ap- 
pointed hour; the daring of the others had evidently 
been dispelled by portentous dreams. From the 
western end of the village we crossed " the Strait of 
the Sun " to the foot of the mountain. Some coolies 
had preceded us, and cleared away a path up the 
steep acclivity ; but soon our only road was the nar- 
row bands where large masses of rocks and sand, 
which had been loosened from some place high up the 
mountain, and shot down in a series of small land- 
slides, ploughing up the low shrubbery in their thun- 
dering descent. As long as we climbed up among the 
small trees, although it was difficult and tiring, it was 
not particularly dangerous until we came out on the 
naked sides of the mountain, for this great elevation 
is not covered with vegetation more than two-thirds 
of the distance from its base to its summit. This lack 
of vegetation is caused by the frequent and wide land- 
slides and by the great quantity of sulphur brought up 
to its top by sublimation and washed down its sides 
by the heavy rains. Here we were obliged to crawl 
up on all fours among small, rough blocks of porous 
lava, and all spread out until our party formed a 
horizontal line on the mountain-side, so that when 
one loosened several rocks, as constantly happened, 



230 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

they miglit not come down upon some one beneath Mm. 
Our ascent now was extremely slow and difficult, but 
we kept on, tliougli sometimes the top of the moun- 
tain seemed as far off as tie stars, until we were 
within about five hundred feet of the summit, when 
we came to a horizontal band of loose, angular frag- 
ments of lava from two to six inches in diameter. 
The mountain-side in that place rose at least at an 
angle of thirty-five degrees, but to us, in either look- 
ing up or down, it seemed almost perpendicular. 
The band of stones was about two hundred feet wide, 
and so loose that, when one was touched, frequently 
half a dozen would go rattling down the mountain. 
I had got about half-way across this dangerous place, 
when the stones on which my feet were placed gave 
way. This, of course, threw my whole weight on 
my hands, and at once the rocks, which I was hold- 
ing with the clinched grasp of death, also gave way, 
and I began to slide downward. The natives on 
either side of me cried out, but no one dared to 
catch me for fear that I should carry him down also. 
Among the loose rocks, a few ferns grew up and 
spread out their leaves to the sunlight. As I felt 
myself going down, I chanced to roll to my right side 
and notice one of them, and, quick as a flash of light, 
the thought crossed my mind that my only hope was 
to seize that fern. This I did with my right hand, 
burying my elbow among the loose stones with the 
same motion, and that, thanks to a kind Providence, 
was sufficient to stop me ; if it had broken, in less than a 
minute — ^probably in thirty or forty seconds — ^I should 
have been dashed to pieces on the rough rocks be- 



IN GREAT PERIL. 231 

neatli. Tlie whole certainly occurred in a less 
space of time tlian it takes to read two lines on this 
page. I found myself safe — drew a long breath of 
relief — thanked God it was well with me — and, kick- 
ing away the loose stones with my heels, turned 
round and kept on climbing. Above this band of 
loose stones the siu'face of the mountain was covered 
with a crust formed chiefly of the sulphur washed 
down by the rains, which have also formed many 
small grooves. Here we made better progress, 
though it seemed the next thing to climbing the 
side of a brick house ; and I thought I should 
certainly be eligible to the "Alpine Club" — if I 
ever got down alive. At this moment the natives 
above us gave a loud shout, and I supposed of course 
that some one had lost his footing and was going 
down to certain death. ^'- Look out! Look out! — 
Great rocks are coming ! " was the order they gave 
us ; and the next instant several small blocks, and 
one great flake of lava two feet in diameter, bounded 
by us with the speed of lightning. ^'' Here is an- 
other ! " It is coming straight for us, and it will 
take out one of our number to a certainty, I thought. 
I had stood up in the front of battle when shot and 
shell were flying, and men were falling ; but now to 
see the danger coming, and to feel that I was per- 
fectly helpless, I must confess, made me shudder, and 
I crouched down in the groove where I was, hoping 
it might bound over me : and at that instant, a frag- 
ment of lava, a foot square, leaped up from the moun- 
tain and passed directly over the head of a coolie a 
few feet to my right, clearing him by not more than 



232 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

five or six inclies. I took it for granted tliat tlie 
monntain was undergoing another eruption, and that 
in a moment we should all be shaken down its almost 
vertical sides ; but as the rocks ceased coming down 
we continued our ascent, and soon stood on the 
rim of the crater. The mystery concerning the fall- 
ing; rocks was now solved. One of our number had 
reached the summit before the rest of us, and, with 
the aid of a native, had been tumbling ojff rocks for 
the sport of seeing them bound down the mountain, 
having stupidly forgotten that we all. had to wind 
part way round the peak before we could get up on 
the edge of the summit, and that those of the party 
who were not on the top must be directly beneath 
him. 

The whole mountain is a great cone of small an- 
gular blocks of trachytic lava and volcanic sand, and 
the crater at its summit is only a conical cavity in 
the mass. It is about eighty feet dee23 and one hun- 
dred or one hundred and fifty yards in diameter. 
The area on the top is ellij)tical in form, about three 
hundred yards long and two hundred wide. This, 
on the eastern side, is composed of heaps of small 
lava-blocks, which are whitened on the exterior, 
and, in many places, quite incrusted with sulphur. 
Through the heaps of stones steam and sul23hurous 
acid gas are continually rising, and we soon hurried 
around to the windward side to escape their suffo- 
cating fumes, and in a number of places we were 
glad to run, to prevent our shoes from being scorched 
by the hot rocks. On the western side of the crater 
the rim is largely composed of sand, and in one place 



PERILOUS DESCENT. 233 

rises one hundred and twenty feet liiglier than on the 
eastern side. The top, therefore, |)artly opens toward 
the east, and from some of the higher parts of Lontar 
most of the area on the summit of this truncated 
cone can be seen. In the western part were many fis- 
sures, out of which rose sheets and jets of gas. When 
we had reached the highest point on the northwest 
side, we leaned over and looked directly down into 
the great active crater, a quarter of the distance from 
the summit to the sea. Dense volumes of steam and 
other gases were rolling up, and only now and then 
could we distinguish the edges of the deep, yawning 
abyss. Here we rested and lunched, enjoying mean- 
while a magnificent view over the whole of the Band a 
group when the strangling gas was not blown into 
our faces. Again we continued around the northern 
side, and came down into an old crater, where was a 
large rock with " ^tna," the name of a Dutch man-of- 
war, carved on one of its sides, and our captain bu- 
sied himself for some time cutting " Telegraph," the 
name of our yacht, beneath it. Great quantities of 
sulphur were seen here, more, the governor said, than 
he had noticed on any mountain in Java, for the 
abundance of sulphur they all yield is one of 
the characteristics of the volcanoes of this archipela- 
go. It was now time to descend, and we called our 
guide, to whom some one had given the classical 
prsenomen of Apollo (a more apj)roj)riate title at 
least than Mercury, for he never moved with winged 
feet) ; but he could not tell where we ought to go, 
everything appeared so very diff'erent when we looked 
downward. I chose a place where the vegetation 



234 TEAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

was nearest tlie top, and asked him if I could go 
down there, to whicli, of course, lie answered yes, as 
most people do when they do not know what to say, 
and must give some reply. 

I had brought up with me an alpen-stock, or long 
stick, slightly curved at one end, and with this I 
reached down and broke places for my heels in the 
crust that covered the sand and loose stones. For 
hundreds of feet beneath me the descent seemed per- 
pendicular, but I slowly worked my way downward 
for more than ninety feet, and had begun to con- 
gratulate myself on the good progress I was making. 
Soon, I thought, I shall be down there, where I can 
lay hold of that bush and feel that the worst is past, 
when I was suddenly startled by a shout from my 
companions, who were at some distance on my right. 
" Stop ! Don't go a step farther, but climb directly 
up just as you went down." I now looked round for 
the first time, and found, to my astonishment, that I 
was on a tongue of land between two deep, long holes 
or fissures, where great land-slides had recently oc- 
curred. I had kept my attention so fixed on the 
bush before me that I had never looked to the right or 
left — generally a good rule in such trying situations. 
To go on was to increase my peril, so I turned, 
climbed up again, and passed round the head of one 
of these frightful holes. If at any time the crust had 
been weak, and had broken beneath my heels, no 
earthly power could have saved me from instant 
death. As I broke place after j)lace for my feet with 
the staff, I thought of Professor Tyndal's dangerous 
ascent and descent of Monte Rosa. At last I joined 



ON TERRA riRMA ONCE MORE. 



my companions, wlio liad found the way we had come 
up, and after some slips and sprains, and considerable 
bruising, we all reached the bottom safely, and were 
glad to be oif the volcano, and, landing on Banda 
Neira, feel ourselves on terra firma once more. 

For a few days I could scarcely walk or move my 
arms, but this lameness soon passed away; not so 
with the impressions made on my mind by those 
dangers : and even now, when I am suddenly aroused 
from sleep, for a moment the past becomes the pres- 
ent, and I am once more on the tongue of land, with 
a frightful gulf on either hand, or I am saving myself 
by grasping that fern. 

According to the statements of the officials, many 
years ago a gentleman had the hardihood to attemj)t 
to ascend this mountain alone. As he did not return 
at the expected time, a party of natives was sent to 
search for him, and his dead body was found some 
distance beneath the summit. The rocks to which he 
had intrusted himself had probably given way, and 
the only sensation that could have followed was one 
of falling and a quick succession of stunning blows, 
and life was gone. Governor Amens assured me 
that the band of loose stones was the most danger- 
ous place he had ever crossed, though he had climbed 
many nearly pei>j)endicular walls, but always where 
the rocks were fixed and could be relied on for a 
footing and a hold. If the ascent and descent were 
not so difficult, sulphur might be gathered in such 
quantities at the summit crater that it would form 
an important article of export. The authorities in- 
formed me that much was obtained in former times. 



236 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO, 

and tliat tlie natives who undertook tliis perilous 
climbing were always careful to array themselves in 
wliite before setting out, so that if they did lose their 
lives in the attempt they would be dressed in the 
robes required by their creed, and at once be taken 
to Paradise. The first European who reached its 
summit, so far as I am aware, was Professor Rein- 
wardt, in 1821 ; the second was Dr. S. Miiller, in 
1828 ; and from that time till the 13th of September, 
1865, when we ascended it, only one party had at- 
tempted this difficult undertaking, and that was 
from the steamer ^tna, whose name we had found 
on a large rock in the old crater. 

The height of this volcano we found to be only 
two thousand three hundred and twenty-one English 
feet. Its spreading base is considerably less than 
two miles square. In size, therefore, it is insignifi- 
cant compared to the gigantic mountains on Lom- 
bok, Java, and Sumatra ; but when we consider the 
great amount of suffering and the immense destruc- 
tion of property that has been caused by its repeated 
eruptions, it becomes one of the most important vol- 
canoes in the archipelago.""'* In 1615 an eruption oc- 
curred in March, just as the Governor-General, Ge- 
rard Eeynst, arrived from Java mth a large fleet to 
complete the war of extermination that the Dutch 
had been waging with the aborigines for nearly 
twenty years. 

For some time previous to 1820, many people 

* From Valentyn and later writers we learn that eruptions have 
occurred in the following years: 1586, 1598, 1609, 1615, 1632, 1690, 
1696, 1712, 1765, 1775, 1778, 1820, and 1824. 



ERUPTION OF GUNONG API. 23Y 

lived on tlie lower flanks of Gunong Api, and had 
succeeded in forming large groves of nutmeg-trees. 
On tlie lltli of June of tliat year, just before twelve 
o'clock, in an instant, without the slightest warning, 
an eruption began which was so violent that all the 
people at once fled to the shore and crossed over in 
boats to Banda Neira. Out of the summit rose 
perpendicularly great masses of ashes, sand, and 
stones, heated until they gave out light like living 
coals. The latter hailed down on every side, and, as 
the accounts say, " set flre to the woods and soon 
chan2;ed the whole mountain into one immense cone 
of flame." This happened, unfortunately, during the 
western monsoon ; and so great a quantity of sand 
and ashes was brought over to Banda Neira, that 
the branches of the nutmeg-trees were loaded down 
until they broke beneath its weight, and all the 
parks on the island were totally destroyed. Even 
the water became undrinkable, from the light ashes 
that filled -the air and settled down in every crevice. 
The eruption continued incessantly for thirteen days, 
and did not wholly cease at the end of six weeks. 
During this convulsion the mountain was ap23arently 
split through in a north-northwest and south-south- 
east direction. The large, active crater which we 
saw beneath us on the northwestern flanks of the 
mountain, from the spot where we stopped to lunch, 
was formed at that time, and another was reported 
higher up between that new crater and the older 
one on the top of the mountain. A stream of lava 
poured down the western side into a small bay, and 
built up a tongue of land one hundred and eighty 



238 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

feet long. The fluid rock lieated tlie sea witliiii a 
radius of more tlian half a mile, and nearer the shore 
eggs were cooked in it. This stream of lava is the 
more remarkable, because it is a characteristic of the 
volcanoes throughout the archipelago, that, instead 
of pouring out molten rock, they only eject hot 
stones, sand, and ashes, and such materials as are 
thrown up where the eruptive force has already 
reached its maximum and is growing weaker and 
weaker. 

On the 22d of April, 1824, while G-overnor-Gen- 
eral Van der Capellen was entering the road, an 
eruption commenced, just as had happened two hun- 
dred and nine years before, on the arrival of Gov- 
ernor-General Reynst. A great quantity of ashes 
again suddenly rose from its summit, accompanied by 
clouds of " black smoke," in which lightnings darted, 
while a heavy thundering rolled forth that complete- 
ly drowned the salute from the forts on Neira. This 
was followed, on the 9th of June, by a second erup- 
tion, which was succeeded by a rest of fourteen 
days, when the volcano again seemed to have re- 
gained its strength, and once more ashes and glow- 
ins^ stones were hurled into the air and fell in show- 
ers on its sides. 

But the people of Banda have suffered quite as 
much from earthquakes as from eruptions, though 
the latter are usually attended by slight shocks."^' 
Almost the first objects that attract one's attention 
on landing at the village are the ruins caused by 

* Heavy earthquakes, without eruptions, have occurred in 1629, 
1683, mo, 1767, 1816, and 1852. 



A VILLAGE SUBMERGED. 239 

the last of these destructive plienoinena. Many 
houses were levelled to the ground, but others 
that were built with special care suffered little in- 
jury. Their walls are made of coral rock or bricks. 
They are two or three feet thick and covered with 
layers of plaster. At short distances, along their 
outer side, sloping buttresses are placed against them, 
so that many of the Banda residences look almost as 
much like fortifications as dwellino;-houses. The 
first warning any one had of the destruction that 
was coming was a sudden streaming out of the wa- 
ter from the enclosed bay, until the war-brig Haai, 
which was lying at anchor in eight or nine fathoms, 
touched the bottom. Then came in a great wave 
from the ocean which rose at least to a height of 
twenty-five or thirty feet over the low, western part 
of the village, which is only separated from Gunong 
Api by the narrow Sun Strait. The praus lying 
near this shore were swept up against Fort Nassau, 
which was then so comj)letely engulfed, as it was 
stated to me on the spot, that one of these native 
boats remained inside the fort when the water 
had receded to its usual level. The part of the vil- 
lage over which the flood swept contained many small 
houses, and nearly every one in them was carried away. 
The rapid outflowing of the water of this enclosed 
bay (which is really only an old crater) was prob- 
ably caused either by the elevation of the bottom at 
that spot, or else by such a sinking of the floor of the 
sea outside, that the water was drained off into some 
depression which had suddenly been formed. We 
have no reason to suppose that there was any great 



240 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

commotion in tlie open ocean, and certainly there 
was no higli wave or bore, or it would liave risen on 
tlie shores of tlie neighboTing islands. There are. 
three entrances or straits which lead from the road 
out to the open sea. Two of these are wide and one 
is narrow. When the whole top of the old volcano, 
that is, Banda Neira, GuDong Api, Lontar, and the 
area they enclose, was raised for a moment, the 
water steamed out from the crater through these 
straits, causing only strong currents, but as the land 
instantly sank to its former level, the water poured 
in, and the streams of the two wider straits, meeting 
and uniting, rolled on toward the inner end of the 
narrow strait. Here they all met, and, piling up, 
spread out over the adjoining low village, causing a 
great destruction of life. At the Resident's house, a 
few hundred yards east of Fort Nassau, the water only 
rose some ten or fifteen feet above high- water level, 
and farther east still less. The cause assigned above, 
though the principal one, may therefore not have 
been sufiicient in itself to have made the sea rise 
so high over the southwestern part of Banda Neira 
and the oj)posite part of Gunong Api, and I sus- 
pect that an additional cause was that the land 
there sank for a moment below its proper level. 
Valentyn thus describes another less destructive 
earthquake wave: "In the year 1629 there was a 
great earthquake, and half an hour afterward a flood 
which was very great, and came in calm weather. 
The sea between Neira and Selam " (on the western 
part of Lontar) " rose up like a high mountain and 
struck on the right side of Fort Nassau, where the 



THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE BANDAS. 241 

water rose nine feet liiglier tlian in common spring 
floods. Several lionses near the sea were broken 
into pieces and wasted away, and tlie ship Briel, 
lying near by, was wMrled round three times." ^'' 

However, all these events are but as yesterday 
when we glance over the early history of this an- 
cient volcano ; for, if we can judge by analogy, taking 
as our . guide the great crater already referred to as 
this day existing among the lofty Tenger Mountains 
on Java, we see in our mind's eye an immense vol- 
canic mountain before us. From its high crater dur- 
ing the lapse of time pour out successive overflows 
of lava which has solidified into the trachyte of 
Lontar. That period is succeeded by one in which 
ashes, sand, and hot stones are ejected, and which 
insensibly passes into recent times. During one of 
these mighty throes the western half of the crater- 
wall disappeared beneath the sea, if the process of 
subsidence had gone on so far at that time. Slowly 
it sinks until it is at least four feet lower than at the 
present day, for we found on the western end of 
Lontar a large bank of coral rock at that height. 
The outer islands are now wholly submerged. This 
period of subsidence is followed by one of up- 
heaval, but not till the slow-building coral polyps 
had made great reefs, which have become white, 
chalky cliffs, and attained their present elevation 
above the sea. A tropical vegetation by degrees 

* In this case the facts that the water in the roads did not pour out 
into the sea, and that the "flood" did not come until half an hour after 
the shock had occurred, indicate that this wave had its origin elsewhere, 
and that there is no need of supposing, as in accounting for the great 
wave of 1852, that any part of the group was raised or depressed. 
16 



242 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO, 

spreads downward, closely pursuing tlie retreating 
sea, and tlie islands become exactly wliat tliey are at 
the present day. 

The Banda group form but a point in the wide 
area of the residency of Banda. All the eastern part 
of Ceram is included in it, the southwest coast of 
New Guinea, and the many islands south and south- 
west to the northern part of Timur. Southeast of 
Ceram are the Ceram-laut, that is, " Ceram lying to 
seaward," or Keffing group, numbering seventeen isl- 
ands. Their inhabitants are like those I saw on the 
south coast of Ceram, and do not belong to the Pa- 
23uan or negro race. They are great traders, and con- 
stantly visit the adjoining coast of New Guinea, 
where they purchase birds of paradise, many luris or 
parrots of various genera, " crown pigeons," Mega- 
podiidece^ scented woods, and very considerable 
quantities of wild nutmegs, which they sell to the 
Bugis traders, who usually touch here at Banda on 
their outward and homeward passages. I saw many 
of the wild nutmegs that had been brought in this 
way from New Guinea. Instead of being spherical, 
like those cultivated here at Banda, they are ellipti- 
cal in outline, frequently an inch or an inch and 
a quarter long, and about three-fourths^ of an inch 
in diameter. They do not, however, have the rich, 
pungent aroma of the Banda nutmegs, and this, I am 
assured, is also the case with all wild ones wherever 
found, and even with those raised on Sumatra and 
Pinang from seeds and plants originally carried from 
these islands. Wild nutmegs are also found on Dam- 
ma southwest of Banda, and on Amboina, Ceram, 



THE SOUTHEASTERN ISLANDS. 243 

Buru, Batcliian, tlie Obi Islands, and Gilolo, also on 
tlie islands east of the latter, and on the northern 
coast of the western part of New Guinea. This fruit 
is widely planted by the " nut-crackers," two large 
species of doves, Columba cenea^ Tern., and Columba 
'pers^picillata^ Tern., which swallow the nuts covered 
with the mace, the only part digested. The kernel 
enclosed in its hard, polished shell is soon voided, 
while it yet retains the germinating power, and a 
young tree springs up far from its parent. 

East of this group is that of Goram, composed of 
three islands, inhabited by natives who are Moham- 
medans. Southeast of Goram is the Matabella group. 
Indeed, these groups are so united that they form but 
one archipelago. The Ceram-laut Islands are low, but 
those of Goram and Matabella are high. On the isl- 
and Teor, or Tewer, in the last group, there is a vol- 
cano which suffered a great eruption in 1659. Mr. 
Wallace describes the Matabellas as partly composed 
of coral reefs raised from three to four hundred feet. 
Sometimes these people go as far west as Sum- 
bawa and Bali. The " Southeastern Islands " begin 
on the north with the Ki group, ten in number, south 
of the former archipelago. Three of the Kis are large 
islands and two are high, a ]3eak on one being esti- 
mated at about three thousand feet. They are so 
well peopled that they are supposed to contain over 
twenty thousand souls. The natives are very in^ 
dustrious, and famous as boat-builders. The wood 
they use comes from their own hill-sides, and they 
need no iron to complete boats of considerable size, 
which they sell to the inhabitants of all that part of 



244 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

the archipelago. Farther to the east are the Aru (in 
Dutch, Aroe) Islands, that is, " the islands of the casn- 
arina-trees." They numher about eighty, and are 
very low, forming a chain about a hundred miles 
long and half as broad. When seen on the vrest 
they appear as one continuous, low island ; but on 
coming nearer, intricate channels are found winding 
among them, through which set strong tidal currents. 
The people are said to closely resemble those of 
Haruku, Saparua, and Nusalaut. The total popula- 
tion is given at only fourteen thousand. A few are 
Christians, and two or three native schoolmasters 
from Amboina are employed there. Papuans are 
said to live on the most eastern island. Large quan- 
tities of tripang are gathered on the shallow coral 
banks of these low islands, and in the sea the du- 
gong, Halioore dugong, Cuv., is seen. The great bird 
of paradise, P. apoda, is found here, and also the 
red bird of paradise, P. regia. The skins of these 
beautiful birds were probably brought here to Banda 
and sold to the Chinese traders for many ages, but 
the first account we have of them is by Pigafetta, who 
accompanied Magellan's fleet. He says that the king 
of Bachian, an island west of the southern end ©f 
Gilolo, gave his companions a slave and nearly two 
hundred pounds of cloves as a present for their Em- 
peror, Charles Y., and also " two most beautiful 
dead birds. These are about the size of a thrush, 
have small heads, long bills, legs a palm in length 
and as slender as a wiiting-quill. In lieu of proper 
wings, they have long feathers of different colors, like 
great ornamental plumes. The tail resembles that 



BIRDS OF PARADISE. 245 

of a tlirusli. All tlie featliers except tliose of tlie 
wings are of a dark color. It never flies except 
wlien tlie wind blows. We were informed these 
birds came from the terrestrial Paradise, and they 
called them holondinata^'' that is, 'birds of God.'" 
This word the Portuguese translated into their lan- 
guage as "ave deparaiso," and hence our name "birds 
of paradise," a name well chosen, for in some species 
the feathers have all the appearance of the most 
brilliant jewels. Southwest of the Ki Islands lies 
Timur-laut, and passing on toward Timur we come to 
the " Southwestern Islands," composed of the Baba, 
Sermatta, Letti, Roma, Wetta, and Lamma groups, 
which we noticed as we steamed away from Dilli. 

Returning northward from Wetta, we come to 
Gunong Api, an uninhabited volcano, rising between 
six and seven thousand feet above the sea. It is a 
well-known landmark for the ships bound to China 
that have passed up the Ombay Passage, or those 
coming down the Floris Sea, intending to pass out 
through that strait into the Indian Ocean. Northeast 
of Gunong Api are the Lucipara and Turtle (in 
Dutch Schilpad) Islands, which praus from Amboina 
frequently visit for tortoise-shell. East of Gunong 
Api is Nila, an active volcano, about seventeen hun- 
dred feet in height, and north of it is Serua, which 
is merely a volcanic cone rising abruptly from the 
sea. In 1694 a great eruption took place in this 
volcano. A part of the crater wall fell in, and the 
lava overflowed until the whole island is repre- 

* Mr, Orawftird thinks this is a corruption of lurungdewata^ which 
in Malay means " birds of God." 



246 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

sented as having "become one " sea of fire," and all 
tlie inhabitants were obliged to flee to Banda. Again, 
in September, 1844, after a rest of a hundred and. 
fifty years, another eruption began, which compelled 
every one to leave its inhospitable shores once more. 
Since that time it has been settled again, and here in 
Banda are many of the boats its peoj)le bring in the 
latter part of this month, when continuously for days 
not a breeze ripples the glassy sea — halcyon days in- 
deed. As the natives have no iron, the whole boat is 
built of wood. The central j)art is low, but the bow 
and stern curve up high, quite different from all I 
have seen in any other part of the archipelago, and 
reminding one of the representations usually given of 
those used in some parts of the South Sea. 

While I had been turning my attention to ge- 
ology, the native who was assisting me to collect 
shells was searching for a " hunter," that is, one who 
can skin birds. He soon had the good fortune to 
find one, who was also a native of Amboina, for all 
these natives dislike those of another village, and 
only associate with them when they can find none of 
their own people. During the few days we were 
at the Bandas they collected several species of 
most beautiful kingfishers ; indeed, those who have 
seen only our sombre-colored S23ecimens can scarcely 
conceive of the rich plumage these birds assume in 
the tropical East. They were also so fortunate as to 
find a few superb specimens of a very rare and valu- 
able bird, with scarcely any tail, and having eight 
very different colors, the Pitta vigorsi. An allied 
species is found on the Aitu Islands, and another on 



GEOLOGY OF AMBOINA. 247 

Buru, a third on Gilolo, and a fourtli on Celebes, 
but none is yet known on tbe great island of Ceram. 
We now steamed back to Amboina, and while 
the yacht was taking in coal and preparing to go to 
Ceram, I crossed over Laitimur with the governor. 
Our procession was headed by a native carrying a 
large Dutch flag, and after him came a " head man," 
supported on the right by a man beating a tifa^ and 
on the left by another beating a gong. Then came 
the governor, borne in a large chair by a dozen coo- 
lies, and I, in a similar chair, carried by the same num- 
ber. From the city we at once ascended a series of 
hills, sparsely covered with shrubbery, and composed 
of a soft red sandstone, which is rapidly disinte- 
grating, and is evidently of very recent origin. It is 
found on the highest elevation we crossed, which is 
from fifteen to eighteen hundred feet above the 
sea. Near this point we descended into a small 
ravine, where the soft sandstone had been washed 
away, and the underlying rocks were exposed to view. 
Here we found feldsjDathic porphyry and serpentine. 
Thence we crossed other hills of sandstone and came 
down to the sea-shore at the village of Rutong. We 
were hoping to find a small hill of granite that Dr. 
Schneider had discovered, but we were not able to 
identify the places he describes. Dr. Bleeker, who 
crossed over to Ema in 1856, remarks that the first 
hills he ascended were composed of coral rock, and 
that he came on to it again when he descended tow- 
ard the sea-shore. We did not notice it at this 
time, but, on my first excursion to the cocoa plan- 
tation on Hitu, I found a long coral reef, fully five 



248 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

liundred feet above tlie sea. It was a perfect repeti- 
tion of the reef I visited in tlie bay of the Portngnese 
village of Dilli, at the northern end of Timur. A. 
small place had been cleared on its crest, and there I 
found several pairs of the huge valves of the Tridacna 
gigcLS, which appeared from their relative position to 
have been once partially surrounded by the soft coral 
rock, which, having been washed away, allowed the 
valves to fall apart. They were much decayed, but 
had not lost more than half their weight. They had 
evidently never been brought there by men; be- 
cause the natives rarely or never use them for food. 
There is no need that they should take the trouble 
to gather such enormous bivalves when they have a 
plenty of sago-palms, and all that it is necessary for 
them to do to obtain an abundance of food is to cut 
down these trees and dig out the pith. If, in former 
times, they did collect the Tridacna for food, they 
never would have carried these great shells, each 
of which originally weighed a hundred j)Ounds or 
more, a mile back among the hills, but would have 
taken out the animal and left them on the shore. 
Governor Aniens, who had carefully studied these 
recent reefs, stated to me that he had found them as 
high up as eight hundred feet above the sea, but at 
that elevation they seem to disappear. 

When returning we stopped for some time on the 
hills back of the city to enjoy a magnificent view of 
the bay and the high hills rising on the opposite side. 
Just then the broad strati, floating in the west, parted, 
and rays of bright sunlight, darting through their fis- 
sures, lighted up the dark water beneath us. There 



TRADE OF AMBOINA. 249 

were not many vessels and praus at anclior off tlie 
city at tliat time, but I was informed that in about a 
month later many would arrive, for tlie dry sea- 
son, witli its clear sky and liglit winds, liad set in 
about the 15th of September, when we arrived from 
Banda. 

About two hundred vessels and praus of all 
kinds come to Amboina in a year. The praus are 
owned and commanded by the natives themselves, 
but most of the vessels are commanded by mestizoes 
and owned by Arabs and Chinese, who carry on the 
larger part of the trade in the eastern part of the 
archipelago. Since a line of steamers has been es- 
tablished, these Arabs and Chinese avail themselves 
of that means of importing their goods from Batavia 
and Surabaya, where they are received directly from 
Europe. The total value of the imports is from a 
half to three-quarters of a million of guilders. The 
chief article is cotton fabrics, and the next rice, which 
is shipped here all the way from Java and Sumatra 
for the sustenance of the troops. Very little rice is 
raised on any of these islands, because there are no 
low, level lands suitable for its cultivation. In the 
Bandas the whole attention of the population is so 
devoted to cultivating the nutmeg that they are en- 
tirely dependent on other islands for a supply of 
food. The most important exports from this island 
are cloves, cocoa, kayu-puti oil, nutmegs, various 
kinds of woods, and mace. Formerly the inhabitants 
of Ceram-laut, Goram, and the Arru Islands were ac- 
customed to bring their tripang, tortoise-shell, para- 
dise birds, and massoi-bark to this port to sell to the 



250 TKAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

Bugis, Ibut for tlie last forty or fifty years tlie Bugis 
liave gone from Macassar directly to tliose islands 
and traded witli the people at their own villages.. 
In 1854, Amboina, Banda, Ternate, and Kayeli, were 
made free ports, but this has not materially increased 
the trade at any of those places. 

The period when the trade at Amboina was most 
flourishing was when it was last held by the Eng- 
lish, from 1814 to 1816. The port was then free, but, 
when it once more passed into the hands of the 
Dutch, duties were again demanded, which forced 
the trade into other channels, where it still remains, 
notwithstanding there are now no duties. The proper 
remedy has been applied, but applied too late. This 
is also the history of the trade at Batavia, where the 
heavy duties have induced the traders of the eastern 
part of the archipelago to sail directly to the free 
port of Singapore. 

I had been at Amboina a long time before I could 
ascertain where the grave of Rumphius is located, 
and even then I found it only loj chance — so rarely 
is this great man spoken of at the present time. 
From the common, back of the fort, a beautifally- 
shaded street leads up to the east ; and the stranger, 
while walking in this quiet retreat, has his attention 
drawn to a small, square pillar in a garden. A thick 
group of coffee-trees almost embrace it in their di"Oop- 
ing branches, as if trying to protect it from wind 
and rain and the consuming hand of Time. Under 
that plain monument rest the mortal remains of the 
great naturalist. 

The inscription, which explains itself, and shows 



THE TOMB OF RUMPHIUS. 251 

liow nearly tMs sacred spot came to be entirely neg- 
lected and forgotten forever, reads as follows : 

MEMOEI^ SACRUM GEOEGII EVEEAEDI EUMPHII, 

de re botanica et historica natural! optime merita 

TUMTTLUM 

dira temporis calamitate et sacrilegia manufere 

^ DIEUTtTM, 

Manibus placatis restitui jussit 

et 

pietatem reverentiamque publicam testificans 

HOC MONUMENTUM 
IPSE CONSEOEATIT 

Godarus Alexander Grardns PMUipns 

Liber Baro A. Oapellen 

Totius Indisa Belgica3que 

PEEFECTUS EEGIUS. 

Amboinaa Mensis Aprilis, 
Anno Domini m.dcco.xxiv. 

Geoege Eveeaed Rumpf, wliose name lias been 
latinized into Rumphius, as an acknowledgment of 
tlie great service lie lias rendered to tlie scientific 
world, was a German, a native of a small town in 
Hesse-Cassel. He was born about tlie year 1626, 
and, having studied medicine, at tlie age of twenty- 
eight went to Batavia, entered tlie mercantile ser- 
vice of tlie Dutcb.. East India Company, and thence 
proceeded to Amboina, where he passed the re- 
mainder of his life. At the age of forty-two, while 
contemplating a voyage back to his native land, he 
suddenly became blind, and therefore never left his 
adopted island home ; yet he continued to j)rosecute 
his favorite studies in natural history till his death, 
which occurred in 1693, when he had attained the 
ripe age of sixty-seven. 

His great work on the shells of Amboina, which 



252 TKAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

was not publislied till 1705, twelve years after his 
deatL, was for a long time tlie acknowledged stand- 
ard to wliicli all concliological writers referred. His 
most extensive w^ork, . however, was the " Hortus 
Am.l)oinense," which was only rescued from the 
Dutch archives and published at the late date of 
forty-eight years after his death. It contains the 
names and careful descriptions of the plants of this re- 
gion, their flowering seasons, their habitats^ their uses, 
and the modes of caring for those that are cultivated. 
When we consider that, in his time, neither botany 
nor zoology had become a science, and consider, more- 
over, the amount and the accuracy of the information 
he gives us, we agree with his contemporaries in 
giving him the high but well-merited title of " the 
Indian Pliny." 



CHAPTER VIII. 

BTJEU. 

Sept. 2^tli. — Steamed down tlie bay from Am- 
boina, tliis time not without a sliglit feeling of sad- 
ness as I recalled tlie many bappy bours I bad 23assed 
gathering sbells on its sbores and rambling over its 
bigb bills, and as I realized tbat it would probably 
never be my privilege to enjoy tbose pleasures again. 
Only tbree montbs bad elapsed since my arrival at 
Batavia, but I bad passed tbrougb so many and sucb 
different scenes, tbat Amboina appeared to bave been 
my borne for a year — and so it seems to tbis day. 

As we came out of tbe moutb of tbe bay, we 
cbanged our course to tbe west, and kept so near tbe 
land, tbat I bad a fine opportunity to reexamine tbe 
places I bad visited during a beavy storm, wben tbe 
sea was rolling into wbite surf and tbundering along 
tbe sbore. 

Off tbe western end of Ceram lie tbree islands, 
Bonoa, Kilang, and Manipa. Bonoa, tbe most east- 
erly, is a billy island about twelve miles long and 
balf as broad. Its population is divided into Chris- 
tians and Mohammedans, and each has such a bitter 
hatred against the other, that the Christians at last 
determined to expatriate themselves, and accordingly, 



254 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

in 1837, migrated to Bachian. The clove-gardens in 
Bonoa were thus in danger of being neglected, and 
the man who was governor of the Moluccas at that 
time therefore sent messengers to induce them to re- 
turn ; but, when this measure proved unavailing, he 
went himself in a war-ship, and brought them back. 

From Amboina we passed up the strait between 
Kilang and Manipa, which is less than a mile wide, 
and made much narrower by long tongue-shaped reefs 
of coral which project from several points. A fresh 
breeze had sprung up from the south, and, under a 
full head of steam and a good press of canvas, we 
ploughed through the waves which rolled up against 
the wind. In all these straits the tidal currents are 
very strong, and in many places so smft that a good 
boat cannot make headway against them with oars, 
and this makes many of these narrow channels very 
dangerous for the native boats. 

That evening the bright fires built by the fisher- 
men on the shores of Bonoa were seen on our lar- 
board side, and the next morning we were near the 
Seven Brothers, a group of islands on the west side 
of Sawai Bay. Here are three dangerous reefs not 
laid down on the charts, a mile or more from the 
shore. As we passed, mountains three or four thou- 
sand feet in height were seen standing by the sea near 
the head of the bay. At noon we came to anchor in 
the little harbor of Wahai, which is formed by coral 
reefs that are bare at low tide. Unfortunately, it is 
too small for sailing-ships to enter safely, or it would 
be visited occasionally by those of our whalers who 
frequent these seas. The whole village consists of a 



BEAUTIFUL BIRDS. 255 

small fort, a house for the commandant, wlio lias 
tlie rank of captain, a house for the doctor, and a few 
native huts on either hand. The only communication 
the inhabitants of this isolated post have with the 
rest of the world is by means of coolies, who cross 
over from the head of Elpaputi Bay to the head of 
Sawai Bay, and then come along the shore. All the 
natives in the interior are entirely independent of the 
Dutch Government, and the coast natives, who carry 
the mail, are liable to be robbed or killed at any mo- 
ment while on their journey. 

My hunter at once began collecting birds, while 1 
searched the shores for shells, and bought what the 
natives chanced to have in their miserable dwellings. 
The most common shell here is an Auriotda. Its pe- 
culiar aperture, as its name implies, is like that of the 
human ear. It lives on the soft, muddy flats, where 
the many-rooted mangrove thrives. The rarest and 
most valuable shell found here, and indeed one of 
the rarest living in all these seas, is the Hostellaria 
rectirostris. It is so seldom found that a pair is fre- 
quently sold here for ten guilders, four Mexican dol- 
lars. My hunter soon returned mth two large white 
doves, the Carpophaga luctitosa, and a very perfect 
specimen of that famous bird, the Platycercus hypo- 
pTionius, Gr. R. Gray, called by the Malays the castori 
rajah, or "prince parrot," from its being the most 
beautiful of all that brilliantly-plumaged family. It is 
a small bird for a parrot. The head, neck, and under 
parts are of a bright scarlet ; the wings a dark, rich 
green, and the back and rump a bright lapis-lazuli blue, 
that shades off into a deeper blue in the tail, which 



256 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

is nearly as long as tlie body. These birds generally 
fly in pairs, and as they dart tlirongL. the evergreen 
foliage, and you catch a glimpse of their graceful 
forms and brilliant plumage, it seems like the mo- 
mentary recollection of some dream of Paradise. 
Large flocks of red luris, JEos rubra, Gml., other spe- 
cies of parrakeets, and many sorts of doves, frequent 
the surrounding woods, and several species of king- 
fishers and snipes live by the shore. For three days 
I enjoyed this rare hunting. We then steamed out 
of the little bay of Wahai for the island of Buru. 
While passing Bonoa we kept near the shore, and 
saw a large white monument which was erected by 
the Portuguese, and is ]3robably one of the padroes, 
or " pillars of discovery," placed there by D' Abreu 
when he first reached these long-sought isles. Soon 
we passed Swangi, " Spirit Island," a lonely rock near 
Manipa, supposed by these superstitious natives to 
be haunted by some evil spirit. 

Buru, the island to which we were bound, lies a 
few miles west of Manipa. Its area is estimated at 
about twenty-six hundred geographical square miles, 
so that it is one-half larger than Bali or Lombok. 
Its form is oval, with the greatest axis east and west. 
Its shores, instead of being deeply indented, like 
those of all the larger islands in that region, are en- 
tire, except on the northwest corner, where they recede 
and form the great bay of Kayeli. The entrance to 
this bay is between two high capes, three or four 
miles apart, so that on the northeast it is quite open 
to the sea. Within these capes the shores become 
low, forming on the southwest a large morass ; and 



IN EXILE. 



257 



tlie bay expands to tlie east and west until it is 
about seven miles long. In tlie low lands bordering 
tlie south side of this bay is the Dutch " bezitting," or 
post, also named Kayeli. Here is a small, well-built 
fort, in which are stationed a lieutenant and doctor, 
and a company of militia from Java or Madura. A 
controleur has charge of the civil department, and the 
governor had Mndly given me a note to him, and he 
and his good lady at once received me kindly, and, 
as it proved, I made my home with them and the 
doctor for a long time. The plan the governor pro- 
posed was that we should leave for Ternate and New 
Guinea in five days after the steamer landed me at 
Kayeli. Those five days passed, but no steamer ap- 
peared. Again and again I watched by the hour, 
hoping, almost expecting, to be able to discern smoke 
on the horizon, and soon see the Telegraph coming 
into the harbor. Thus a week passed, then ten days, 
and by this time all, like myself, had come to the 
conviction that some unexpected and unfortunate 
event must have hap]3ened. But what was it ? No 
one could tell. Fifteen days of such uncertainty and 
solicitude passed, when a large prau was seen coming 
in from the sea. It brought me a letter from Gov- 
ernor Arriens, stating that just as he was on the point 
of coming to take me, as proposed, news came that a 
great revolt had broken out in Ceram. Immediately 
he accompanied the captain of a large man-of-war, 
whose duty it was to put down all insurrections. 
"When they arrived off the village, the captain, con- 
trary to the advice of all, landed with a small force, 
hoping to be able to treat with the rebels, but he 
17 



258 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

had scarcely toiiclied tlie sliore wlien a party of 
tliem in ambusli poured a volley into his boat, 
wounding Mm twice severely, but not fatally. I 
now found myself really banished, for the yacht was 
needed too much to come and take me away. I 
therefore resigned myself quietly to my fate, and de- 
termined to profit by the opportunity to make a col- 
lection of the beautiful birds of the island. My first 
excursion was to a cliff on the southeast side of the 
bay, near its mouth, which I found was composed of 
metamorphic schists, that were very much fissured by 
joints and seams, and fell apart in cubical blocks. 
Another place I frequently visited was the low mo- 
rass on the southwest side of the bay, through which 
flows out a stream of such size that a large canoe can 
ascend it for three days. Along the canals in this 
morass is a thick forest, the high branches of which 
meet above, forming for a considerable distance grand 
covered avenues. Here the kingfishers delight to 
gather, and, perching on the lower boughs, occasion- 
ally dart downward, like falling arrows, into the 
quiet water. It was most delightful, during the heat 
of the day, to glide along in these cool and shady 
canals, which wind to and fro, and in such an endless 
series of curves and angles, that no one could weary 
of the rich, almost oppressive, vegetation that con- 
tinually surrounds him. At the mouth of this small 
river are long shallow banks of sand, which are bare 
at low tide, and on these are many large snags and 
logs that have come down the streams and grounded 
while on their way to the sea. On these wide banks, 
as the ebbing ceases and the tide begins to flow, long 



HUNTING LUKIS. 259 

lines of gulls, sandpipers, plovers, and curlews, gath- 
er, and, as tlie water advances, tliey are forced to 
apj)roacli tlie sliore until tlie only resting-places left 
tliem are tlie logs and snags tliat raise tlieir crooked 
limbs and roots above tlie surface of tlie water. At 
sucL. times tliese perching-places are one living, flut- 
tering mass of birds. Again and again I came to 
this spot, and always returned witli as many speci- 
mens as my native hunter could skin on the follow- 
ing day. 

A few minutes' walk back of the controleur' s 
house took me into the surrounding forest, where I 
was accustomed to ramble to and fro hour after hour 
. until I knew all the favorite haunts of most of the 
birds ; yet nearly every day, till the time I left, I se- 
cured specimens of a species that had not been repre- 
sented in my collection. Still others were seen, and 
one or more specimens of them must be obtained ; 
and thus, the more I collected, the more interesting 
became my work. My regular daily routine was to 
hunt in the morning till ten or eleven o'clock, return 
to the house to avoid the heat, and then go out again 
about four, and remain till the setting sun warned 
me to return or grope my way back as best I could 
through the dark woods. Soon after I arrived, a 
tree, as large as our oak, became filled with great 
scarlet flowers, and in the early morning flocks of red 
luris (^Eos ruhra^ Gml.) and other parrakeets, with 
blue heads, red and green breasts, and the feathers 
on the under side of the wings of a light red and bril- 
liant yellow {Tric}ioglo88U8 cyanogrammus, Wagl.), 
would come to feed on them. It was easy to know 



260 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

wliere tliose birds had begun their niorning feast by 
their loud, unceasing screeching and chattering; and, 
after stealthily creeping through dense shrubbery for 
hundreds of yards, I would suddenly behold one of 
these great trees filled with scores of such brilliantly- 
plumaged birds, flying about or climbing out to the 
ends of the branches, and using their wings to aid in 
poising themselves while they made a dainty break- 
fast on the rich flowers. These are indeed the birds 
that Moore describes as — 

" Gay, sparkling loories, such as gleam between 
The crimson flowers of the coral-tree 
In the warm isles of India's sunny sea." 

Soon after sunset huge bats always came out, in 
pairs, and sailed about on their leathery wings, search- 
ing for those trees that chanced to be in fruit. The 
wings of a male that I shot measured four feet and 
four inches from tip to tip, and the wings of the female, 
which accompanied him, expanded four feet eight 
inches. They are very properly named by the Dutch, 
" flying foxes," and almost seem to be antediluvian mon- 
sters, which ought to have disappeared from the face of 
the earth long ago, like the formidable JPterodactyles. 
During the day they hide away in the thick foliage, 
and one afternoon I found one hanging, as they de- 
light to do when they rest or sleep, with its head 
downward, from the limb of a tree. They are very 
tenacious of life, and will receive charge after charge 
of large shot in the head before they will let go of 
the limbs with their crooked claws and allow them- 
selves to fall. They are said to be good for food, but 
I never saw the natives eat them, and certainly had 



MY HOME IN THE FOREST. 261 

no desire myself to try tlie flavor of sucli questiona- 
ble meat. A small path, leading a mile througli tlie 
forest, brought me out on to a large open field or 
prairie, covered witL. a coarse grass as Mgli as a man's 
shoulders. Beyond this was another forest, and 
there I was informed was a settlement of two or 
three houses, the farthest place inland inhabited by 
any of the coast people or common Malays. Beyond 
that point there is not the slightest footpa,th. All 
the hills and high mountains, which I could see tow- 
ard the interior of the island, are covered with one 
dense, unbroken forest, and only on some of the lower 
hills, bordering ' the bay, are there open areas of 
grass. What a nice thing it would be to live out 
there for a week in the midst of that forest ! My 
mind was made up to do it. I returned and ex- 
plained my plan to the contToleui"^ and the next day 
we set off to hire one of the distant huts. The far- 
thest one from Kayeli, and exactly the one I wanted, 
chanced to be unoccupied, for the native who owned 
it had found the place so lonely that he had deserted 
it and taken up his abode in the village. The rent 
for a week was agreed to without much parleying. ' 
The owner further agreed to send his son to bring 
water and keep house while I and my hunter were 
away, and to be generally useful, which he inter- 
preted to mean that he would only do what he could 
not avoid. Another man was engaged as cook, and 
my domestic arrangements were complete, for I pur- 
posed not only to live in a native house, but to con- 
form entirely to the Malay cuisine. Our cooking- 
apparatus consisted of a couple of shallow kettles 



262 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

and a small frying-pan ; and tlie little teapot tliat ac- 
companied me on my Amboina excursions was not 
left behind. 

October 16t7i. — This morning we came out to our 
forest home. Our house is about eight feet wide, 
twelve feet long, and perched upon large posts four 
feet from the ground. It is divided by a transverse 
partition into a front room or parlor, and a back 
room or kitchen. In one corner of the latter is a 
square framework filled with ashes, in which are in- 
serted three long stones, whose tops slightly incline 
toward each other. These are to supj)ort the ket- 
tles, for no Malay has ever conceived of a machine 
for cooking so complicated as a crane. As to a chim- 
ney, there is none whatever, but the smoke is allowed 
to escape under the eaves or through a hole in the 
side of the house that also serves for a window. The 
frame of the house is made from small trees. For a 
flooring, broad sheets of bark are used. The walls 
are made of gaba-gaha, the dry midribs of large palm- 
leaves, and the roof is of ataj). The front door is in 
one of the gable ends, and is reached by a rickety 
ladder of two rounds. This part is transformed into 
a rude piazza by a shed-roof, beneath which we have 
made a seat and a kind of table for the hunter to use 
in skinning birds. 

My daily routine here is the same as before — 
hunting every morning and evening, with a native 
to carry my ammunition and to pick up the birds — 
a very difficult task whenever we are in the thick 
jungle or among the tall grass. Near our house is 
the stony bed of a torrent, which is now perfectly 



OUR HIGHWAY THROUGH THE FOREST. £63 

dry. It is the only cleared way tliere is tlirougli the 
dense forest around us, and I avail myself of it to 
travel up toward tlie mountains and down toward 
the sea. Indeed, I feel proud of our grand highway. 
True, it is not paved with blocks all carefully cut 
down to one precise model, and so exactly uniform 
as to be absolutely painfal to the eye, but Nature 
herself has paved it in her own inimitable way — no- 
tice how all the stones have been rounded by the 
boiling torrent which pours down here from the 
mountains during the rainy season. Some are al- 
most perfect ellipsoides or spheres, but most are disk- 
shaped, for they are made from thin fragments of 
slate that had sharp corners when they broke away 
from their parent mountain. To 23revent a dull uni- 
formity of color, she has scattered here and there 
rounded boulders of opaque milk-white quartz, frag- 
ments, undoubtedly, from beds of that rock which, at 
this place at least, are interstratified with the slate. 
Here and there are deeper places, where the troubled 
stream was accustomed to rest before it went on 
again in a foaming torrent to empty its s|)arkling; 
waters into the wide sea, the original source of all 
streams. By this way I visit my nearest neighbors 
and procure chickens, which our cook roasts on sticks 
over the fire, after having carefully rubbed them with 
salt and a liberal allowance of red pepper, the two 
universal condiments among the Malays. For ages 
all the salt these people have had has been brought 
from Java. The red pepper thrives well every- 
where without the slightest care, and it is almost al- 
ways found growing near every hut. A large bush 



264 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN AECHIPELAGO. 

of it at one corner of our liouse is now filled with 
fruit of all sizes ; some small and green, and some 
fully grown and showing it is already ripe by its 
bright-pink color. In this condition the Malays 
gather and dry it, and always carry a good supply 
wherever they go. Its Malay name is lombo\ but 
the one more generally used is the Javanese name 
chabe. Besides chickens, we have paddy, that is, rice 
in the husk. A large elliptical hole is made in a log 
for a mortar, a small quantity of paddy is then poured 
in and pounded with a stick five or six feet long, and 
as large round as a man's arm. This is raised verti- 
cally, and, when the hole is nearly even full, a native 
will usually pound off all the husks without scatter- 
ing more than a few grains on the ground ; but, if a 
foreigner attempts it, he will be sur|)rised to see how 
the rice will fly off in all directions at every blow. 
When the husks are pounded off they are sej)arated 
from the kernels by being tossed up from a shallow 
basket and carried away by the wind, as our farmers 
used to winnow grain. This is the only mode of pre- 
paring rice practised by the Malays, and the process 
is the same in every part of the archipelago. From 
one corner of our piazza hangs a large bunch of green 
bananas to ripen in the sunshine. I find it very 
agreeable to pluck off a nice ripe one myself when I ' 
come in weary and thirsty from a long hunt. From 
the other corner hangs a cluster of cocoa-nuts filled 
with clear, cool, refr^eshing water. 

Not far from us is a hut inhabited by two na- 
tives, who are engaged in cultivating tobacco. Their 
ladangs^ or gardens, are merely places of an acre or 



TOBACCO AND MAIZE. 



265 



less, where the thick forest has been partially de- 
stroyed by fire, and the seed is sown in the regu- 
lar spaces between the stumps. As soon as the 
leaves are fully grown they are plucked off, and the 
petiole and a part of the midrib are cut away. Each 
leaf is then cut transversely into strips about a six- 
teenth of an inch wide, and these are dried in the 
sun until a mass of them looks like a bunch of 
oakum. It is then ready for use, and at once car- 
ried to market. This cosmopolite, Nicotiana tahacum, 
is a native of our own country. Las Casas says 
that the Spaniards on Columbus's first voyage saw 
the natives in Cuba smoking it in tubes called ta- 
bacos, hence its name. Mr. Crawfurd states that, ac- 
cording to a Javanese chronicle, it was introduced 
into Java in the year 1601, ninety years after the 
conquest of Malacca by the Portuguese, who were 
probably the first Europeans that furnished it to the 
Javanese, as the Dutch had not yet formed an estab- 
lishment on the island. It is now cultivated in 
every part of the archipelago. The fact that this 
narcotic was originally found only in America leads 
us to infer, mthout raising the questions whether our 
continent received her aboriginal population from 
some other part of the globe, or whether they were 
created here, that there never has been any extensive 
migration of our Indians or red-men to the islands 
in the Pacific, or to any distant part of the world; 
for if they had colonized any area, in that place at 
least, its use would undoubtedly continue to ex- 
ist at the present day, since it is probable that 
they would never have thought of going to a new 



266 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

land without taking witli tliem tliis plant, wMcli 
they valued more even than food, and which they 
had been accustomed to cultivate. If, after estab- 
lishing themselves in their new colony, they had been 
overpowered and completely destroyed by some more 
powerful tribe, their conquerors would probably have 
become addicted to the same habit as readily as the 
people of every clime and every stage of civilization 
do now, and thus the practice would have been per- 
petuated, though the people who introduced it per- 
ished ages ago, and all the idols, and temj)les, and 
fortifications they might have made, have long since 
crumbled into dust. This inference is greatly 
strengthened, if we consider the past and present 
geographical distribution of maize, or Indian corn, 
which is also a native of our continent only, and, 
like tobacco, is now raised in every part of the ar- 
chipelago. Unlike rice, this plant thrives on hill- 
sides and elevated lands, and can therefore be raised 
on all the larger islands in these seas, where there 
are few level areas that can be readily inundated for 
the cultivation of rice. It was also ]3robably intro- 
duced by the Portuguese, for Juan Graetano, a Span- 
ish pilot, who visited Mindanao in 1642, twenty-one 
years after the discovery of the Philippines by Ma- 
gellan, states * that " in a certain part of that island 
ruled by the Moors" (Arabs), "there are some small 
artillery, and hogs, deer, buffaloes, and other animals 
of the chase, with Castilian " (or common) " fowls, 
rice, palms, and cocoa-nuts. There is no maize in that 

* Vide Eamusio, vol, i., p. 376, in Orawfurd's "Dictionary of the 
India Islands." 



THE TEAK-TREE. 267 

island, but for bread they use rice and a bark wMcli 
they call sagu, from wliicli also they extract oil in 
like manner as they do from palms." 

As maize is not difficult to be transported on 
account of its bulk or liability to any injury, and 
formed the chief article of food among most of our 
red-men, it would be the very provision they would 
take with them on their migrations ; and as the part 
eaten is the fruit, they would have plenty of seed, 
and would know from their previous experience pre- 
cisely how to cultivate it. 

One j)art of the surrounding forest is a grove of 
jati^ or teak-trees, Tectona grcmdis^ Linn. Those 
found here are only a foot or fifteen inches in diam- 
eter and forty feet high, a size they attain in Java in 
twenty-five or thirty years, where they do not reach 
their full growth in less than a century. The na- 
tive name jati is a word of Javanese origin, signify- 
ing true, or genuine, and was probably applied to 
these trees on account of the well-known durability 
of the wood they yield. Now, near the end of the 
dry monsoon, they have lost nearly all their foliage ; 
for, though it is sometimes asserted that in the trop- 
ics the leaves fall imperceptibly one by one, that is 
not true, in this region, where there are well-defined 
wet and dry seasons. The teak also thrives in a few 
places on the continent, and is found in the central 
and eastern provinces of Java, in Madura, Bali, and 
particularly in Sumbawa, where the wood is consid- 
ered better than that of Java, but it is said to be un- 
known in Sumatra, Borneo, and in the peninsula of 
Malacca. It exists in some places in Celebes, but 



268 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

the natives assert tliat tlie seed was brouglit tliere 
from Java Iby one of tlie, sovereigns of Tanete. It is 
therefore uncertain wlietlier tlie teak is a native of 
tMs island. In the early morning, and again soon 
after sunset, flocks of large green parrots, Tanyg- 
natlius Qnacrorynchus, Wagl., come to these trees 
to feed on the fruit which is now ripe. They are so 
wary that it is extremely difficult to get near them, 
especially as the large dry leaves of this tree cover 
the ground and continually crack and rustle beneath 
one's feet. To see these magnificent birds flying 
back and forth in the highest glee, while they re- 
main unconscious of danger, is a grand sight, and it 
seems little less than absolute wickedness to shoot 
one, even when it is to be made the subject, not of 
idle gazing, but of careful study, and it requires still 
greater resolution to put an end to one's admiration 
and pull the fatal trigger. When one of these birds 
has been wounded, its mate, and sometimes the whole 
flock, hearing its cries, at once comes back, as if hop- 
ing to relieve its misery. 

In many places in this vicinity the tall canari- 
tree is seen raising its high crest, and there flocks of 
cream-colored doves, Carpopliaga luctuosa, gather 
to feed on its fruit. Their loud, continuous cooing 
leads the hunter a long way through the jungle. 
Among the limbs of the lower trees are seen the 
long-tailed doves, Carpophaga perspiclata. On the 
banks of the dry brook, near our house, are bunches 
of bamboos, through which flit fly-catchers, Mus- 
cicapidoe, and the beautiful Monarclia loricata, a 
slender bird, about as large as a martin, of a blue 



WE RETURN TO KAYELI. 269 



a"bove, and a pure, almost silvery wliite beneath, ex- 
cept on the throat, which is covered with scale-like 
feathers, of a rich metallic blue-black. So far as is 
kno^'^m, this beautiful bird is only found on this 
island. In the bushes and shrubbery is constantly 
heard the cheerful note of a bird, the TroUdorynclius 
houruensis^ somewhat larger than our robin. By 
day I enjoyed this Kobinson Crusoe life very much, 
but the mosquitoes proved such a torment by night 
that we could scarcely sleep. A great smouldering 
fire was made under our hut, but its only effect was 
to increase our misery, and make the mosquitoes 
more bloodthirsty. We were frequently disturbed 
also by several yellow dogs, which came to crunch 
what chicken-bones the cook had thrown away, and 
to upset every thing around the house that was not 
already in a state of stable equilibrium. Afterward, 
when all was still, occasionally a heavy crash sighed 
through the deep woods, caused by the falling of 
some old tree, whose roots had been slowly con- 
sumed by the fires that prevail in the neighborhood 
during the dry season. 

At the end of a week my hunter had preserved 
the skins of sixty-three beautiful birds, including 
specimens of six species that I had not secured 
before. We now returned to Kayeli; and though 
there were only eight white persons in the whole 
place, I could nevertheless feel that I was returning 
to civilization, and that I could speak some other 
language than Malay. 

The village of Kayeli is really composed of eleven 
separate parts, or 'kam])ongs, all situated on a low, 



270 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

marsliy place, a couple of hundred yards back from 
tlie sand-beach. They are separated from each other 
by a little stream, or 'kali^ and each has its own 
rajah, and formerly had its own little square mosque, 
for all these eleven tribes are Mohammedans, and 
keep se]3arate from each other, because they lived in 
different parts of the island when the Dutch arrived. 
In the centre of this village is a large, square lawn, 
formed by the fort, the residence of a controleur^ and 
a few other houses. Back of the lawn is the Chris- 
tian kampong ; for in every village where there are 
Mohammedans and Christians, each has a separate 
part to itself Occasionally, instead of a healthful 
spirit of rivalry, a more bitter hostility springs up 
than existed between the Jews and the Samaritans, 
and finally the weaker party is obliged to migrate, 
as in the case mentioned in regard to the inhabitants 
of Bonoa. 

From Valentyn we learn that, according to native 
accounts, as early as a. d. 1511, ten years before the 
arrival of the Portuguese, the Sultan of Ternate sent 
out expeditions which subjected all the tribes of this 
island. In 1652 a treaty was made between the 
sultan and the Dutch, that all the clove-trees on the 
island should be uprooted. The natives opposed this 
measure to the best of their ability, but after a resist- 
ance which lasted five years, they were completely 
subjected, all their clove-trees were destroyed, and 
they were obliged to remove to Kayeli Bay, and live 
under the range of the Dutch cannon. Since that 
time (1657), the clove-tree has never been introduced 
again. Previous to the expedition of the Sultan of 



THE ALFURA OF BURU. 2Y1 

Ternate in 1511, the shores of the island were 
occupied by the Malays, who had already subjected 
the earliest inhabitants of the island of which we 
have any knowledge. During my stay at Kayeli I 
saw several of them, though they are always shy 
about entering the village. Like the Alfura of Ceram, 
they resemble the Malays in stature and general ap- 
pearance, but are distinguished from them by their 
darker color, and by their hair, which is frizzly, not 
lank like that of the Malays, and not woolly, like 
that of the Papuans. As in Ceram, many of them 
suffer from that unsightly disease, icthyosis, in which 
the skin becomes dry and comes off in scales. Their 
houses are described as the most miserable hovels, 
consisting of little more than a roof of palm-leaves 
resting on four poles, with a kind of platform a foot 
or two above the ground, where they sit and sleep. 
They are all fr-ee, and slavery is wholly unknown. 
Mr. T. J. Miller, who was formerly resident here, took 
much pains to gather all the information possible in 
regard to them. He states that they have divided 
the island into Fennas or tribes, each of which has 
a chief. Instead of living together in villages, like 
the Malays, they are scattered over their whole terri- 
tory. Several of these chiefs continue to acknowl- 
edge one of the Mohammedan rajahs, or, as they are 
named by the Dutch, " regents," in the village of 
Kayeli, as their superior. Formerly, each was obliged 
to send one young girl to its regent for a bride 
every year, but the Dutch have long since relieved 
them from such an unwelcome exaction. In former 
times also they were compelled to pay their regent a 



272 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

certain part of their rice and sago, and provide men to 
row Ms prau or to carry Ms cliair, if lie proceeded by 
land, "but ttey have "been freed from this onerous 
service, and the Malays who live in the village with 
the rajah are o"bliged to perform such offices for 
him. In regard to marriage, each man buys his wife, 
her price, according to their laws, depending on the 
rank of her father, as in Ceram, but a man is not, 
however, required to cut off a human head before he 
can be allowed to marry, as is the custom in that 
island. Instead, therefore, of being fierce head-hunt- 
ers, as the Alfura of Ceram, they are mild and in- 
offensive. They believe, according to Mr. Miller, in 
one Supreme Being, who made every thing, and is 
the source of all good and all evil. They believe in 
evil spirits. Prayer leads to prosperity; the negli- 
gence of this duty to adversity. Through the love 
that this Supreme Being had for man, whom He had 
created. He sent him a teacher, Nabiata, who lived 
among the mountains. He gave the will of his 
Master in seven commandments, namely: 1. Thou 
shalt not kill nor wound. 2. Thou shalt not steal. 
3. Thou shalt not commit adultery. 4. Thou shalt 
not set thyself against ihj fenna. 5. A man shall not 
set himself up against the chief of his tribe. 6. The 
chief shall not set himself up against him that is over 
his or other tribes. 7. The chief over more than one 
tribe shall not set himself up ag^^st him who is 
placed over all the tribes. Nabiata also taught that, 
though the body perishes, the soul shall still continue 
to exist. They who have kept the foregoing com- 
mandments — for all the acts of men are recorded by 



SHAVING THE HEAD OF A YOUNG CHILD. 273 

this Supreme Being — shall dwell far above the clouds 
near the Omniscient One. They who have done 
wickedly shall never rise to the abode of the happy 
nor remain on earth, but continually, in solitude and 
sorrow, wander about on the clouds, longing in vain 
to join their brothers who are above or beneath them. 
Nabiata also instituted circumcision, which was per- 
formed on both sexes when they attained the age of 
eight or ten years. From the introduction of this 
rite we may infer that this Nabiata was a Mohamme- 
dan teacher, probably an Arab, who had found his 
way to this region on a Javanese or Malay prau, 
that had come to purchase cloves. Finally, according 
to their legend, ISTabiata made men of birth his dis- 
ciples and teachers, and ascended to the abode of the 
good from whence he came. 

One day, while at Kayeli, I received a most polite 
invitation to attend a feast at one of the rajah's 
houses. The occasion was the shaving of a young 
child's head. An Arab priest began the rite by re- 
peating a prayer in a monotonous nasal chant, five 
others joining in from time to time by way of a 
chorus. After the long prayer was ended, a servant 
brought in the child, and another servant followed 
carrying a large plate partly filled with water, in 
which were two parts of the blossom of a cocoa-nut- 
palm, a razor, and a pair of shears. The child was 
first carried to the chief priest, who dipped his fingers 
in the water, placed them on -the child's head, and 
then cut off a lock of hair with the large shears. The 
lock of hair was then carefully thrown into the water 
along with a guilder. We all did the same. Tea 

18 



274 TRAVELS IX THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

and small cakes made of rice were then served, and 
" the feast " v^as ended. The child was one year old ; 
when it becomes eight or nine it will have to submit 
to that abominable custom prevailing among both 
sexes of all ranks of Mohammedans, filing the teeth. 
This, I was informed, was done with a flat stone, or a 
fragment of slate, and sometime^ even with a piece 
of bamboo. The object is to make the teeth short, 
and the front ones concave on the outer side, so as 
to hold the black dye. The Christians never file 
theirs, and the Mohammedans always ridicule the 
teeth of such natives by calling them " dogs' teeth," 
because they are " so white and so long." 

At another time I received an invitation to attend 
a wedding-feast, but, when I reached the house, it 
proved to be a feast that the married couple give to 
their friends a few days after the wedding. As on 
all such festive occasions, the house and veranda were 
brilliantly lighted, and on either side from the house 
out to the street were a number of posts made of the 
large soft trunks of bananas. On their tops large 
lumps of gum were burned. Between them were 
arches made of young leaves of the cocoa-nut palm, 
arranged as I had previously seen in Nusalaut. The 
bride (who, of course, is to be spoken of first), to 
our surprise, did not prove to be a young and bloom- 
ing lass, but already in middle life, yet a suitable 
helpmeet at least for the bridegroom, who was an 
Arab, and had married this, his second wife, since he 
came to Burn, only four months ago. The former 
wife he had sent back to her parents, much against 
her wishes. When a wife desires to leave her hus- 



MARRIAGE LAWS IN MOHAMMEDAN COUNTRIES. 2T5 

"band, slie cannot do so without his consent, wMdi the 
husband generally grants, choosing the less of two 
evils, and, moreover, it is regarded as very ungallant 
to retain an unwilling mate ; but, while travelling in 
Sumatra, I saw one husband who would not allow 
his wife another choice, but his was a very peculiar 
case. His father was a Chinaman, and therefore, as 
the descendants of the Chinese do, he had shaved his 
head and wore a cue, and was a Chinaman also ; but, 
becoming desperately enamoured of a Mohammedan 
lass, he concluded to yield to her unusual demand, 
that he too must become a Mohammedan before he 
could be accepted. She soon repented of her pro- 
posal, but he replied that he had suffered so much for 
her sake, he would not release her from her vows — 
such are the unlimited privileges granted the husband 
by the laws of the false Prophet. 

While at Amboina I was surprised one day, just 
before dinner, to see a strange servant appear with a 
large platter containing fifteen or twenty kinds of 
fishes, fruit, and the various inimitable mixtures made 
by the Chinese, in whose quarter of the city we were 
residing. The gentleman with whom I was living, 
however, explained the mystery. There was to be a 
wedding in a house near by, and the father of the 
bride was one of his hired men, and those nice prep- 
arations were intended as a present, that is, in form, 
it being expected that only two or three of them 
would be taken — and that was quite all a European 
palate would desire. This was repeated for three or 
four days. Meantime the father of the bride had 
hired a house where other friends were received and 






276 TKAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

feasted, and tlie father of tlie bridegroom also re- 
ceived and entertained liis friends in like manner. 
At lengtli came an invitation to attend tlie finale of 
tliis long ceremonial. We first walked to tke liouse 
of tke bridegroom. Large Chinese lanterns bril- 
liantly lighted the veranda and the adjoining narrow 
lane, which was thronged with men and boys. We 
then visited the house where the bride was wait- 
ing to receive her lord. The piazza opened into a 
large room, and on one side of it was a smaller one, 
closed by a red curtain instead of a door. No one 
but the lady-guests were allowed to enter where the 
bride was sitting. The larger room contained many 
small tables loaded with delicacies, mostly of Chinese 
manufacture. Not to be unsocial, we sat down and 
sipped a cup of boiling tea, and observed the assem- 
bled guests while all were Avaiting for the coming of 
the bridegroom as in good Scripture times. In the 
op|)osite corner was a table surrounded with Malay 
ladies. It also was covered with sweetmeats, but 
room was soon made for the more necessary siri-box ; 
a liberal quid of lime, pepper-leaves, and betel-nut 
was taken by each one, and^ to complete the disgust- 
ing sight, an urn-shaped spittoon, an inseparable 
companion of the siri-box, was produced, and handed 
round from one to another as the occasion demanded. 
A shrill piping was now heard down the street, and 
every one rushed out on the veranda to see the ap- 
proaching procession. First came boys with wax-can- 
dles, and near them others carrying the presents that 
the bride and the bridegroom had received. Then came 
the bridegroom himself, supported by his friends, and 



A MOHAMMEDAN MARRIAGE. 277 

surrounded by candles arranged at different heiglits 
on rude triangular frames. He was dressed in a 
Malay suit of liglit red, and wore a gilded chain. I 
liad been told that, when he should attempt to enter 
the room where the bride sat waiting, the women 
would gather and persistently dispute his right to 
proceed, and here, in the distant East, I thought to 
myself, I shall see an illustration of the maxim, 
" None but the brave deserve the fair." On the con- 
trary, so far from manifesting any disposition to op- 
pose him and prolong the ceremony, they only made 
way for him to enter the bridal-chamber as quickly 
as possible. As my friend and I were the only white 
persons present, we were allowed the especial favor 
of entering also. On one side of the room was a 
small table covered with a red cloth, and on this were 
two gigantic red wax-candles. Behind the table sat 
the bride, arrayed in a scarlet dress, with a white 
opaque veil concealing her face, and fastened to her 
hair. As the bridegroom approached, she slowly rose. 
Placing his hands with the j)alms together, he bowed 
three times in the same manner as the Chinese ad- 
dress the images in their temples. She returned the 
salutation by also bowing three times, but without 
raising her hands, Now came the exciting moment. 
She remained standing while he stej)ped forward and 
commenced pulling out the j)ins that held fast the 
opaque veil which hid her beauty from his longing 
eyes. Not being very skilful in this operation, a 
couple of the maids-in-waiting assisted him, and, by 
degrees, was revealed a face that was at least one 
shade darker than most of the ladies near her, and I 



278 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

could but think, if that really was the first time 
her husband had ever seen her, he must feel not • a 
little disappointed. However, his countenance re: 
mained unchanged, whether such a saddening reflec- 
tion crossed his mind or one of delightful surprise. He 
then passed round the table to the side of his bash- 
ful bride, and both sat down together and were 
stupidly gazed at. In the opposite end of the room 
was the bridal-bed. The four j)osts rose above the 
bed nearly to the ceiling, and supported a mosquito- 
curtain which was bespangled with many little pieces 
of tinsel and paper flowers. Both the bride and 
bridegroom were Mohammedans, and this marriage 
was nominally according to the Mohammedan usage, 
but it should perhaps be more properly regarded, like 
most of the Malay customs at the present day, as 
combining parts of the rite in China and Arabia with 
that which existed among these nations while they 
observed the Hindu religion, or continued to remain 
in heathenism. The boys usually marry for the first 
time when about sixteen, and the girls at the age of 
thirteen or fourteen, though I was once shown a 
child of nine years that was already a wife, and 
mothers eleven or twelve years old are occasionally 
seen. The great obstacle to marriage in all civilized 
lands — the difiiculty of supporting a family — is un- 
known here. Children, instead of being a source of 
expense, are a source of income. Until four or five 
years old, the boys do not usually wear any clothing. 
Their food costs very little, and all the education 
they receive still less, or nothing at all. The average 
number of persons in one family in Java, where it is 



MALAY IDEAS OF MAEKIAGE. 279 

perhaps as large, if not larger, tlian elsewhere, is esti- 
mated at only four or four and a lialf The fact that 
children help suj^port their parents secures for them 
such attention that they are never entirely neglected. 
Polygamy is allowed here as in other Mohammedan 
lands, but only the wealthier natives and the princes 
are guilty of it. The facility with which marriages 
are made, and divorces obtained, is one cause why it 
is not more general. In regard to the evil effects of 
polygamy, and the ideas of this people in respect to 
the sacred rite of marriage. Sir Stamford Raffles, who 
was Governor-General of Java, most truthfully re- 
marks : " Of the causes which have tended to lower 
the character of the Asiatics in comparison with 
Europeans, none has had a more decided influence 
than polygamy. To all those noble and generous 
feelings, all that delicacy of sentiment, that romantic 
and poetical spirit, which virtuous love inspires in 
the breast of a European, the Javan is a stranger ; 
and in the communication between the sexes he seeks 
only convenience and little more than a gratification 
of an appetite. But the evil does not stop here: 
education is neglected, ■ and -family attachments are 
weakened. A Javan chief has been known to have 
sixty acknowledged children, and it too often happens 
that in such cases sons having been neglected in their 
infancy become dissipated, idle, and worthless, and 
spring up like rank grass and overrun the country." 
In the little village of Kayeli there were only 
three Chinamen, but one of them was an opium-sell- 
er. He was agent for another Chinaman at Amboi- 
na, who had bought the privilege of selling it from 



280 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

the Diitcli Government, wlio " farm out " or grant 
this privilege in every district to tlie liigliest bidder. 
From tliis article alone, tlie government obtains in 
this way an income of four or live million dollars. 
Opium, as is well known, is tlie insj)issated juice ob- 
tained from tlie capsule of tlie wMte poppy, I^apaver 
somniferum. Its Malay name is ajyywii^ wbicli, com- 
ing from the Arabic afyun, shows at once by whom 
it was introduced into the archipelago ; the same 
people, as Mr. Crawfurd remarks, who made them 
acquainted with ardent spirits, and at the same time 
gave them a religion forbidding both. It is imported 
from India, and the poppy is not cultivated in any 
part of the archipelago. Barbosa mentions it in a 
list of articles brought from Arabia to Calicut (Cal- 
cutta), and in his time its price was about one-third 
what it is now. The man who sells it is obliged to 
keep a daily account of the quantity he disposes of, 
and this account is open to the insjDection of the 
government officers at all times. So large is the sum 
demanded by the government for this farming privi- 
lege, and so great are the profits obtained by the 
Chinese, who are the people that carry on most of 
this nefarious traffic, that the price the Malays are 
obliged to pay for this luxury limits its consumption 
very considerably. When imj^orted, it is usually in 
balls five or six inches in diameter. It is then soft 
and of a reddish-brown color, but becomes blacker 
and harder the longer it is kept. It is slightly elas- 
tic, and has a waxy lustre, a strong, unpleasant odor, 
and to the taste is bitter, nauseous, and persistent. 
To prepare it for smoking, it is boiled down to the 




MALAY OPIUIVl-SMOKER. 



From a photograph. 




A TROPICAL JUNGLE. 



p. 281. 



AN OPIUM-SMOKER. 281 

consistency of tliick tar. While it is boiling, tobac- 
co and siri are sometimes added. A lamp is then 
lighted, and a small quantity is taken np on a piece 
of wire as large as a knitting-needle. This is held in 
the flame of the lamp until it melts and swells up as 
a piece of spruce-gum would do under similar cir- 
cumstances. During this process it is frequently 
taken out of the flame and rolled between the thumb 
and forefinger. It is then placed in a small hole in 
the large bowl of the pipe, and the wire being with- 
drawn, a hole is left for inhaling the air. The bowl 
of the pipe is now placed against the lamp and the 
smoke inhaled with two or three long breaths, which 
carry the fames down deep into the lungs. By this 
time the small quantity of opium in the bowl of the 
pipe is consumed. It is then filled as before, and 
this process is repeated until the eyelids become 
heavy and an irresistible desire to sleep possesses the 
whole body. Its immediate effect is to produce a 
passive, dreamy state. This is followed by a loss of 
appetite, severe constipation, and kindred ills. When 
a man has once contracted the habit of using it, it is 
impossible to reform. Greater and gi^eater doses are 
required to produce the desired lethargic effect. The 
evil results of this vice are well shown in the accom- 
panying photograph of a Malay, where the victim, 
although only in middle life, has already become so 
emaciated that he is little more than a living skele- 
ton. The rude platfonn of planks covered with a 
straw mat, on which he is sitting, is his bed, while 
stupified with his favorite drug. A pipe, of the cus- 
tomary form, is seen in his right hand. Being too 



282 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

poor to own a lamp, lie lias instead a small fire of 
cliarcoal raised on tlie top of an urn-shaped vessel 
of eartlien-ware. By Ms side are seen vessels for 
making tea, and by copions draughts of tliat stimulant 
lie will try to revive Ms dead limbs by and by, wlien 
lie awakes from kis contemplated debauck, and finds 
kis wkole energy gone, and, as it were, Ms very life 
on tlie point of leaving tke body. 

My next excursion, after a week in tke woods, 
was witk tke commandant of tke fort to a kigk bluif 
on tke eastern side of tke entrance of tke bay of 
Kayeli. Tke fires wkick rage kere year after year 
destroy muck of tke tkick forest, and a tall, coarse 
grass takes its place. In tkese prairies grow 
many Icayu-puti, or wkitewood-trees, so called from 
tkeir bark, wkick makes tkem resemble our wkite 
birckes. Tkeir branckes are very scattering, and 
bear long, narrow leaves, somewkat like tkose of our 
willow, w^kick are gatkered about tkis time of year, 
for tke sake of tkeir " oil." It is obtained in tke 
following manner: tke leaves are plucked off by 
kand and placed in baskets wkick are carried to 
skeds, wkere tkey are emptied into large kettles, 
tkat are partly filled witk water, and carefully closed. 
From tke centre of tke cover of tke kettle rises a 
wooden tube, to wkick is joined anotker of clotk, 
tkat is coiled up in a barrel containing cold water. 
A fire being made beneatk tke kettle, tke volatile 
"oil" is carried over and condensed in tke tube. 
About eigkt tkousand bottles of tkis article are man- 
ufactured kere every year. Indeed, it forms almost 
tke only export from tkis large island. Tke price 



WE SWIM FOR OUR GAME. 283 

here is about a guilder per bottle. It is sent to Java 
and other parts of tlie arc]iij)elago, and is used as a 
sudorific. The tree, Melaleuca cajeputi, is also found 
in Amboina, Ceram, Celebes, and Sumatra, but the 
best oil comes from this island. 

After we had wandered over a number of hills, 
we came down into a basin, in the bottom of 
which was a little lake, where we found a flock of 
brown ducks. The borders of the lake, however, 
were so marshy that I could get no fair shot at this 
rare game. In a small lake near by I had the privi- 
lege of seeing a pair of those beautiful birds, the 
Anas rajah, or " prince duck." Around the borders 
of the lake was a broad band of dead trees. My 
hunter spied a nice flock of the brown ducks on the 
opposite side, and for nearly a mile we carefully 
crept along through the sharp-edged grass, until 
we were just opposite the flock. If we went down 
to the margin of the pond they would be completely 
shielded from our shot by the trees. I therefore or- 
dered my hunter, whose gun was loaded with a ball 
for deer, to lie down, while I sprang upon my feet 
and tried the effect of one barrel of my fowling-piece, 
which, by-the-by, was loaded with small shot for 
doves. Shy as they were, we had evidently taken 
them by surprise. There was a click, a report, and 
four out of the eight remained where they were. 
The next thing was to get them. We had no dog 
nor boat, and I proposed to my hunter, as he was a 
good swimmer, that he swim for them, but he only 
shrugged his shoulders and declared the whole pool 
was so full of crocodiles that a man could not get 



284 TRAVELS m THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

out wiiere tlie biixls were before lie would be de- 
voured. It evidently was just sucli a place as those 
uionsters delight to frequent, but I determined to go 
after them myself; and as I proceeded to carry out 
my resolution, my hunter, ashamed to remain on the 
banks, joined me, and after an ugly scramble through 
the bushes and sticks, and much' wallowing in the 
soft mud, we got into the water, and out to the flock, 
and as soon as possible were back again on the bank. 
The commandant now came up, and I recounted to 
him what we had been doing. He was horrified ! 
That a man could go into that pond and escape the 
crocodiles for ten minutes he regarded as next to a 
miracle. A number of natives, who had frequently 
visited the place, assured me that nothing could have 
induced them to run such a risk of losing their lives. 
Our whole party then continued on over the grassy 
hills, and came down to Roban, a place of two na- 
tive huts, and one of those was empty. Here, I 
thought to myself, will be another good locality to 
find new species, and I determined to return and 
occupy the vacant house for a few days. 

It was already late in the afternoon before we 
thought of returning, and pushed off from the shore 
in a boat that had come round the cape at the mouth 
of the bay to take us home. Soon the wind sprang 
up ahead, our little sail was taken in, and our men 
used their oars ; but the sun set and the moon arose, 
and yet we were slowly toiling on, and occasionally 
our boat grated on the top of a coral head that rose 
higher than those aroimd it. At last we passed the 
cape, and reached the smooth water of the bay, yet 



A GARDEN BENEATH THE SEA. 285 

the lielmsman kept near tlie shore, and took ns be- 
tween two little islands on tlie east side of the bay, 
called by tke natives Crocodile Islands. As we 
passed tke low j)oint of one of tkem, witliin a boat's 
length from the shore, an enormous crocodile crawled 
out of the jungle and clumsily hurried down the nar- 
row bank into the water, as if he had come out ex- 
pecting to make a meal of us. The thought of the 
danger I had incurred that very day of being devoured 
by such monsters made me shudder and seize an oar, 
but the amphibious beast was already out of my 
reach. 

Along the eastern side of Kayeli Bay there is an 
extensive coral reef, and farther out around the cape 
is another, a quarter of a mile wide, that is bare at 
low tide. Along the outer edges of this I floated 
the next day, while on my way back to Eoban. The- 
water was still, and as clear as crystal, and we could 
see distinctly far down into the deep, deep sea. 
Now, as we come near the reef, its outer wall sud- 
denly rises up, apj)arently from the unfathomable 
abyss of the ocean. Among the first forms we notice 
are the hemispherical Meandrinas^ or " brain corals," 
named, because, when the soft polyps are removed, 
small fissure-like depressions are found winding to 
and fro over its surface, making the raised parts be- 
tween them closely resemble the convolutions of the 
brain. Near by are some sending out many branches, 
like a thick bush, and others with only a few, resem- 
bling deer-antlers of abnormal growth. Some, which 
do not attach themselves to their neighbors, are 
circular, as we see thil^fi-om above. Their under 



286 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

surfaces are horizontal and tlieir upper sides sliglitly 
convex. Wlien tlie soft parts are removed, a num- 
ber of radiating partitions are seen, so tliat tlie 
wliole resembles a gigantic mushroom turned upside 
down ; and this family of polyps is hence called 
JFungidcB. Scattered among the stone corals are 
many Gorgonias. Some are much like broad sheets 
of foliage and similar to those known to us as " sea- 
fans," which generally come from the tropical waters 
among our West Indies. Others resemble bundles 
of rattans ; and, when the soft polyps are taken off, 
a black horn-like axis stick is left. Others, when 
taken out of the sea and dried, look like limbs 
cut from a small spruce-tree after it has been dried, 
and lost hundreds of its small needle-like leaves. Num- 
bers of sponges are also seen, mostly of a spherical 
form, with many ramifying ducts or tubes. But the 
most accurate descrij)tion possible must fail to con- 
vey any proper idea of the beauty and richness of 
these gardens beneath the sea, because, in reading or 
hearing a description, the various forms that are dis- 
tinctly seen at a single glance have to be mentioned 
one after another, and thus they pass along in a se- 
ries or line before our mental vision, instead of being 
grouped into circular areas, where the charm consists 
not so much in the wonderful perfection of a few 
separate parts, as in the harmonious relations, or, as 
architects say, the effect of the whole. The pleasure 
of viewing coral reefs never becomes wearisome, 
because the grouping is always new. No two places 
are just alike beneath all the wide sea, and no one 
can fail to be thrilled with pleasure, when, after a 



THE MOUND-BUILDERS. 287 

few strong strokes of tlie oars, Ms canoe is left to 
glide on by lier own momentum, and tlie coral gar- 
dens pass in review below with a magical effect like 
a panorama. 

At E,oban I remained with my men tkree days, 
and, as we were nearer tke shore, the mosquitoes did 
not torment us as badly as previously at our but near 
tbe mountains. This proved to be a favorite locality 
of tbe castori rajaJi^ or " prince parrot," wbicb I bad 
already seen in Ceram, and I secured two or tbree 
pairs of tbem bere, but I was specially anxious to 
get a specimen of tbe malayu, as tbe Malays strange- 
ly name a bird, tbe Megwpodms JForsteni^ wbicb is 
allied to tbe ben. Tbe common name for tbese birds 
is " mound-builders," from tbeir peculiar babit of 
scratching together great beaps of sand and sticks, 
wbicb are frequently twenty or twenty-five feet in 
diameter, and five feet bigb. Tbese great hillocks 
are tbeir nests, and here they deposit tbeir eggs. 
There is also another species bere, the M. WaUaoei, 
which burrows deeply in tbe sand. The natives 
brought me one specimen, which they caught while 
she was crawling up from her hidden nest. I kept 
her alive for some time, but, after laying an egg 
more than one-third as large as her whole body, 
she died. Two eggs of the same dimensions were 
found at the bottom of the tunnel she bad made in 
tbe loose sand. This bird usually comes down from 
the hills in tbe early part of tbe evening to deposit its 
eggs, and then its wailing cry is occasionally heard, 
but it is so extremely shy, that it is one of tbe 
most difficult of all tbe bbds on tbe island to procure. 



288 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

I usually stot tlie birds, aud my liunter always 
skinned tliem, noting the locality of each, its sex, and 
as nearly as possible tbe color of its eyes. Tbe great- 
est annoyance tliat troubles the collector of birds in 
tlie tropics is caused by tlie swarms of small ants tliat 
fill every conceivable place. If a bird is sbot and 
laid down on tbe ground for lialf an hour, it will al- 
most surely be injured so mucli by these insects that 
it will not be worth skinning. There is no certain 
means of keeping them away altogether, except by 
completely isolating a place with water, which is 
usually done by putting small basins under each leg 
of a table, but before one is aware of it, something 
is sure to be placed so as to touch the table, and thus 
form a bridge for these omnivorous pests to cross 
over and continue their work of destruction. As 
soon as the birds are brought in they are hung up 
by a thread or piece of small twine. After the 
skins are taken off, they are thoroughly poisoned 
with arsenic and camphor, mixed with water to the 
consistency of cream. Each is then filled with the 
cotton from the cotton-wood tree, until it has exactly 
the size of the bird. They are then spread in the 
sun on a bamboo frame, which is suspended by 
twines fastened at its corners. After they have be- 
come thoroughly dried, they are kept in a tight tin 
box with large pieces of gum-camphor, and even then 
they must be looked after every day or two, for they 
are still liable to be injured by the ants, which are 
particularly fond of gnawing at the base of the bill 
and around the eyes. During the rainy season it is 
extremely difficult to dry the skins properly, there is 



TROPICAL PESTS. 289 

SO little sunshine. No one who has not lived in 
the tropics can have any idea vi^hat a source of con- 
stant vexation the ants are. Bread, sugar, and 
every thing eatable, they are sure to devour, unless 
it is kept in glass-stoppered bottles ; and this is the 
greater annoyance, because, when a quantity of pro- 
visions is lost, as is constantly happening, it is so 
difficult to procure another suj)ply in every part of 
the archipelago, except in the immediate vicinity of 
the few chief cities. They are sure, in some way or 
other, to find their way into every little nook or 
corner ; and though a table be set with the greatest 
care, in nine cases out of ten some will be seen run- 
ning on the white cloth before dinner is over. The 
floors of the houses occupied by Europeans are 
usually made of large, square pieces of earthen- ware, 
and through the cracks that chance to occur in the 
cement between them ants are sure to appear. It is 
this, probably, that has given rise to the saying, that 
" the ants will eat through a brick in a single night." 
In all parts of the archipelago it is an established 
custom either to whitewash the walls inside and out- 
side, or else paint them white, except a narrow strip 
along the floor, which is covered with a black paint 
chiefly composed of tar, the only colnmon substance 
to which these pests show any aversion. All these 
troubles are caused by the " black ants," but their 
ravages do not compare with those caused by the 
" white ants," which actually eat up solid wood. The 
frames of many of the smaller buildings and out- 
houses in the East are not mortised, but are fastened 
together with pieces of coir rope, and, of course, when 

19 



290 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

tliey are eaten off, tlie wliole structure comes to tlie 
ground. A large L attaclied to tlie coni/roleur'' s 
house, wMcli we liave been using for a dining-, 
room, fell down from this cause tlie other day. Af- 
terward, when I came to Macassar, a fine war-steamer 
of eight hundred or one thousand tons was pointed 
out to me, which the white ants had succeeded in 
establishing themselves in, and several gentlemen, 
who ought to have known, said that she was so 
badly eaten by them that she was- almost unsea- 
worthy. 

On another occasion the commandant and I went 
to the west end of the bay to himt deer. We started 
early, and at eight o'clock were already at the mouth 
of a small stream, which we ascended for a short dis- 
tance, and a guide then led us through a strip of 
woods that lined the banks. Our party in all con- 
sisted of more than twenty, half of whom were sol- 
diers, armed with rifles; the others came to start 
up the game. "When we passed out into a level, 
open prairie, all that had guns were posted about 
twenty yards apart, in a line parallel to the woods. 
The others made a long circuit round, and finally en- 
tered the forest before us. Then forming into a line, 
they began to drive toward us, shouting with all 
their might, and making a din horrid enough to 
frighten other animals less timid than deer. Packs 
of dogs, that the natives had brought, were mean- 
time yelping and howling. Soon there was a crack- 
ing in the bushes near me, and at the next in- 
stant came a female and her fawn, with high, flying 
leaps through the tall grass. I carried a heavy gov- 



A DEER HUNT. 291 

ernment rifle, for, unfortunately, my liglit breecli- 
loading Spencer Avas not on tlie island. I aimed at 
the foremost and fired; slie fell, and I ran, shouting 
out to the others that I had one, when, to my sur- 
prise, at the next instant she sprang up again and 
with one leap disappeared into the dense jungle. 
That was the only good shot I had that day. Again 
and again we drove, but when we stood in the tall 
grass, which was as high as oui' heads, we could not 
see our game, and when we perched on stumps, or 
climbed into the trees, we could not turn round 
quickly enough to fire suddenly in an unexpected 
quarter with any certain aim. However, when the 
horn was sounded for all to assemble, one fine deer 
and one large wild hog were brought in. Once a 
large male came out about five hundred yards from 
where I was standing. At the crack of the rifle he 
only raised his head high and darted away, almost 
mth the speed of a bullet. His antlers were very 
large and branching, and the gracefulness and speed 
with which he flew over the ]3lain made the sight 
one of the finest I ever enjoyed. The natives are ac- 
customed now, during the dry monsoon, to burn the 
prairie-lands, partly in order that new, sweet grass 
may spring up, and that when the deer come out of 
the forests to eat it they will be fully exposed to the 
rifles, and partly, as they say, to induce them to come 
out in order to lick up the ashes. The usual method, 
besides driving, is to lie in wait near a newly-burnt 
place by night, when there is moonlight enough to 
enable the hunters to see every thing within a rifle- 
shot plainly. After the deer is secured its flesh is 



292 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

cut up into thin slices and smoked, and now, in many 
places on the hills around the bay of Kay61i, col- 
umns of smoke are seen rising every day, where the 
natives are busy changing venison into dinding^ the 
only kind of meat they have except that of wild 
hoars, which are very abundant on this island, though 
seldom taken. They are accustomed to come out 
into the prairie-lands in great droves, and frequently 
an area of a quarter of an acre is so completely rooted 
up by them that it looks as if it had been ploughed. 
They even come by night to the gardens, or culti- 
vated places, at a little distance from the village, and 
in a short time destroy almost every thing growing 
in them. One time, seeing a rare bird perched high 
on the top of a lone tree that stood in the tall grass, I 
cautiously approached within range and fired, when 
suddenly there was a rattling of hoofs on the dry 
ground, caused by the stampede of a large herd 
within pistol-shot of where we were, but entirely 
hidden from our view by the thick grass. The na- 
tives are usually afraid of them, and the one who was 
crawling along behind me to pick up the bird fled at 
the top of his speed when he heard the thundering 
tread of more than a hundred hoofs, while I stood 
wondering what sort of beasts had so suddenly 
sprung out of the earth, and half querying whether 
my shot, as they fell on the ground, had not been 
changed into quadrupeds in the same miraculous way 
that the dragon teeth, sown by Cadmus, were trans- 
formed into men. The hog-deer, or hahirusa^ is also 
found among these mountains. While I was at Ka- 
yeli a young one was caught by some of the natives. 



A THREATENING FLEET. 293 

During this day's hunt I came to a wide field of re- 
cently-elevated coral*, about one hundred feet above 
the sea. The natives, who were surprised that I 
should sto]3 to look at such common rocks, asserted 
that the same kind of hatu puti, " white stone," was 
found among the hills, and I have no doubt that re- 
cent coral reefs will be found in the mountainous 
parts of all the adjacent islands as high up as Gov- 
ernor Arriens has already traced them on Amboina. 
While these days were passing by, we all won- 
dered what the authorities were doing to put down 
the great insurrection in Ceram. All the boats that 
came brought us only the vaguest tidings, sometimes 
of entire success, and sometimes of entire failure. 
We had good cause to be solicitous, for at two or 
three posts on that island there were only about a 
dozen Dutch soldiers, and if any niimbers of the head- 
hunting Alfuras made an attack in concert, all would 
inevitably be butchered. While we were in this 
state of susjDense, six large praus were seen comijig in 
round one of the capes and entering our bay. As 
the foremost hove to and waited for the others, that 
all might reach the anchorage together, they appeared 
to be coming with some evil design, and immediately 
there was no little bustle in our settlement of nine 
Europeans, four of whom were ladies. The com- 
mandant summoned all his troops into the fort, ser- 
geants were posted in the four corners by the four 
cannon, the men once more put through the routine 
of loading, so that if anybody was killed by the dis- 
charge of their pieces, which, by the by, were only 
six-pounders, it might be some one outside of the fort. 



294 TEAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

In short, every tMng was made ready to do battle. 
Meantime tlie six praus came to*anclior off tlie beach. 
One of tliem liad tlie required pass from the Dutch 
authorities at Ceram, allowing his boat to come to 
Kayeli, but the others had no such papers, and, ac- 
cording to their own story, had become frightened at 
the great guns in Ceram, and had also deserted their 
homes. This seemed to me so probable that I went 
down on the beach, and, if the authorities had al- 
lowed it, I would have taken half a dozen natives in 
a canoe and boarded every one of the praus myself, 
and found out what they contained. I was impor- 
tuned to come back from the shore, but as I had been 
in battle myself, I did not purpose to get frightened 
and hide in the fort until I could see some cause 
for it. After a long consultation, it was decided 
that I should not be permitted to inspect the j)raus, 
and a number of Malays were sent off to carefully 
examine each of the dangerous vessels. This was 
done, and the rej)ort brought back that there were 
only three or four natives in each, and that as to 
weapons, not one of them had even an old flint-lock. 
Thus ended the alarm, and once more the usual dull 
routine set in, but this time to be broken by a cir- 
cumstance as romantic as it was peculiar. 

In our little community of nine persons there was 
a young officer. He was'affable, energetic, and withal 
a good military man for one of his years, but, unfor- 
tunately, his mind had been fed on novels until this 
world appeared to him little more than half real. 
He was engaged to a young lady, who lived also in 
our little village. Besides his romantic notions, 



A PAGE OF KOMANCE. 295 

another of his faults was that he was exceedingly ir- 
ritable, so much so, that he and the lady's father fell 
into a serious dispute, in which he became so enraged 
that he ordered his servant to saddle his horse forth- 
with, while he pulled on his long-spurred riding- 
boots, and stuck a large Colt's revolver (navy size) 
into his belt. He now declared his intention to put 
an end to all his ills with his own hand, and, disre- 
garding the screams of his affianced, and the prayers 
and entreaties of all, he sprang into the saddle, and, 
dashing by the house where I was living, disappeared 
up the road into the forest. The gentleman with 
whom I was residing saw him as he passed, and at 
once surmised his intent, but I assured my host that 
it took a brave man to commit suicide, and in due 
time we should certainly see our friend safely return. 
The sequel proved the correctness of my judgment, 
for in a couple of hours he came back, his horse reek- 
ing with perspiration, and he himself as crestfallen 
as Don Quixote after his most heart-breaking misfor- 
tunes. The only one who suffered from this event 
was the young lady, who had so much confidence in 
her gallant friend as to foolishly believe he would 
carry out his desperate resolve to the bitter end. 

Instead of remaining only a few days- as I had 
planned, I had now lived more than three months in 
exile here at Burn, when one morning it was an- 
nounced that the governor's yacht, the Telegraph, 
had arrived, to my great delight, for I had already 
engaged a prau to call in for me while on her way 
from Amboina to Ternate. The Telegraph came 
from Ceram to afford me an opj)ortunity of going to 



296 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

Ternate, tlie very place I was anxious to reacli, and 
at the same time to leave an order for sa/pis, wMch 
slie would take to Ceram on her return. The sapi 
or Madura cattle have been introduced into all these' 
islands by the government to be used as food for the 
soldiers, but only in cases of emergency. I imme- 
diately prepared to continue my travels to other isl- 
ands, and that day, September 6th, we steamed out 
of Kayeli Bay. For two months I had wandered 
over hills and mountains, penetrating the densest 
jungles, and picking my way through bogs filled with 
thorny vines. Again and again the natives enter- 
tained me with descriptions of the great pythons 
with which the whole island abounds, but whenever 
T saw a bird that I wanted, I always followed it as 
long as I could see it. The result was, that I had 
collected seventy-six species,* which were represented 
by over four hundred specimens, nine-tenths of which 
I had shot myself. 

This bay is a good harbor for our whalers, and, 
before the war, several came here every year. It is 
a free port, and there is a safe anchorage, j)lcnty of 
good water and wood, and vegetables can be obtained 
at cheap rates. 

For the last time I looked back on the mountains 
rising behind in the interior of the callage. Many 
and many an hour, as the sun was setting, I used to 
stand by the shore of the bay where a large cannon 
was planted erect in the sand, and, leaning against its 
dumb, rusty mouth, watch the changing of beautiful 

* In the same length of time Mr, A. R. Wallace collected sixty-six 
species on this island. See note at the end of Appendix E. 



YOUTH'S RADIANT FOUNTALNT. 297 

colors in tlie clouds tliat rested on tlie liigli peaks in 
tlie sontli, wMle the day was fading into twiligM, 
and tlie twiliglit into a pure, starlight night. Near 
this spot the sand-j)ipers came and tripped to and fro 
on the beach when the tide was fall, and many long- 
winged night-hawks swooped back and forth, feast- 
ing on multitudes of insects that came out as evening 
approached. Far back of those mountains, near the 
centre of the island, there is a lake, and on its 
shores, according to the ancient belief of the natives, 
grows a plant which possesses the wondrous power 
of making every one who holds it in his hand young 
again^ even when his locks have grown white with 
years, and his hand is already palsied with old age. 
This must be the fountain of youth, which, according 
to Mohammedan tradition, is situated in some dark 
region in the distant East, and which Moore in his 
" Lalla Rookh " refers to as — 

" youth's radiant fountam, 



Springing in some desolate mountaio." 



CHAPTER IX. 

TEE]SrATE, TIDOEE, AND GILOLO. 

As we steamed out of tlie bay of Kayeli a heavy 
rain came on, for tlie rainy season, wliicli liacl been 
prevailing on tlie soutli side of Burn, was now be- 
ginning on tlie nortli side. 

The same alternation of seasons is seen in Ceram. 
When I was on the south side of that island, there 
was one continuous rain ; but when I came soon after 
to Wahai on the north coast, the grass was dry, and 
in many places completely parched. The cause of 
this interchange of seasons is, that the clouds which 
come up from the southeast are heavily charged with 
moisture, and when they ^rike against the high 
mountain-chain which extends from the eastern to the 
western end of that island, the larger part of their 
moisture is condensed and falls in heavy torrents, 
so that when they pass over the water-shed they 
pour out few or no showers.'^* When the wind 
changes and comes from the northeast, the north 
sides of Ceram and Buru are deluged, while it is dry 
weather on their southern coasts. 

* A similar cause produces the rainless district of Pern, but there the 
prevailing wind throughout the year, at least in the upper strata of the 
atmosphere, is from the southeast. 



BACHIAN AND MAKIAN. 



299 



Wlien we were three miles from the northern end 
of Buru^ we struck into a series of tide-rips, exactly 
like those seen in the middle of the South Atlantic 
Ocean, hundreds and hundreds of miles from any 
shore. Night now came on, and it was so dark and 
thick that we could not see fifty yards in any direc- 
tion. It is especially at such a time, when there is 
no moon, no stars, no light in the whole heavens, ex- 
cept the lightning which fitfully darts and flashes 
anywhere and everywhere over the sky, that one 
can feel the inestimable value of the mariner's com- 
pass. That night we had much rough sea, and I 
was thankful that I was on a good steamer instead of 
the old ])rau on which I had been expecting to 
make this voyage. In the afternoon of the next 
day we passed the islands of Bachian and Tawali, 
which are heaved up into ridges about a thousand 
feet in height, and are separated by a long, narrow 
strait, abounding in the grandest scenery. On 
Bachian the clove-tree grows mid. The northern 
part of the island is of sedimentary origin of various 
ages, and there some coal and copj)er have been 
found, and gold has been washed since 1774:. The 
southern part of the island is chiefly of volcanic 
origin. North of Bachian lies a small group of isl- 
ands, and north of these Makian, an old volcano. In 
1646 it underwent a fearful eruption, and all the vil- 
lages on its flanks were destroyed. They were said to 
contain a population of some seven thousand. At 
that time the whole mountain was so completely 
split in two in a northeast and southwest direction, 
that when viewed from either of those points two 



300 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

peaks were seen. After this destruction it was again 
settled, and in 1855 its population numbered six 
thousand. In 1862 it again burst forth, destroying 
nearly every one on the whole island. So great a 
quantity of ashes was throvni out, that at Ternate, 
about forty miles distant, they covered the ground 
to the depth of from three to four inches, and nearly 
all the vegetation, except the large trees, was de- 
stroyed. A similar devastation caused the severest 
suffering within all that radius. But this eruption, 
fearful as it was, could not be compared to that of 
Mount Tomboro, already described. 

North of Makian is Motu', a deep cone of trachyt- 
ic lava, about one thousand feet in height. During 
the next night we passed between the high, sharp 
peak of Tidore on the right and that of Ternate on 
the left, and, entering a large, well-sheltered bay, an- 
chored off the village, situated on the eastern declivi- 
ty of the latter mountain. This morning as the sun 
rose the scene was both charming and imposing 
— ^imposing, while we looked upward to the lofty 
summit of this old volcano and watched the clouds 
of white gas rising in a perpendicular column high 
into the sky, until they came up to a level where 
the air was moving, and at once spread out into a 
broad, horizontal band, while the sun was pouring 
down a perfect flood of bright light over the high 
crest of the ancient peak and the city on its flanks ; 
charming as we looked below the level water-line on 
the shore, and beheld the whole grand sight above, 
perfectly mirrored beneath in the quiet sea. This 
was the first mountain, whose flanks are cultivated, 



EEUPTIONS OF TERNATE. 301 

tliat I had seen since leaving Java. Many small 
ridges extend from its crest part way down its sides, 
and then spread out into little plateau-like areas ; 
and there the natives have cleared away the luxuriant 
shrubbery and formed their gardens, and from them 
were rising small columns of smoke as if from sacri- 
ficial altars. The whole island is merely a high vol- 
cano, whose base is beneath the ocean. Its circum- 
ference at the shore line is about six miles, and its 
height five thousand four hundred feet. From Val- 
entyn, Reinwardt, Bleeker, and Junghuhn, we learn 
that severe and destructive eruptions took place in 
1608, 1635, and 1653. In 1673 another occurred, 
and a considerable quantity of ashes was carried 
even to Amboina. Then, for one hundred and sixty- 
five years, only small clouds of gas rose from the sum- 
mit — not even hot stones were thrown out, and the 
mountain seemed to have undergone its last labor, 
when, on the 26th of February, 1838, another but not 
a severe eru]3tion took place. This, however, came 
suddenly — so suddenly that, of a party of six natives 
who chanced to be on the summit collecting sulphur, 
four who had gone down into the crater did not 
have time to escape, and the two who remained on 
its edge only saved themselves by hastening down 
the mountain ; and even they were badly burned and 
lacerated by the showers of hot stones. On the 25th 
of March, of the next year, a more violent eruption 
occurred. A heavy thundering roared in the earth, 
thick clouds of ashes enveloped the whole island, and 
streams of glowing lava flowed down the mountain. 
Again, the next year, on the 2d of February, at nine 



302 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

o'clock in the forenoon, a tliird eruption, yet more se- 
vere, iDegan. Heavier thundering was heard, smoke 
and ashes poured out, and hot stones rose from the 
crater, and fell like hail on the sides of the volcano, 
setting fire to the dense wood which had completely 
spread over it during its long rest, and causing it to 
assume the appearance by night of a mountain of 
flame. At the same time much lava poured out over 
the crater on the north side, and flowed down to the 
sea between Fort Toluko and Batu Angus, " the Hot 
Stone." This destruction continued for twenty-four 
hours, and at four o'clock the next day all was still. 
During the next ten days clouds of black smoke con- 
tinued to pour out, but all trusted that the worst had 
passed, when, on the 14th, at half-past twelve or almost 
exactly at midnight, a " frightful, unearthly thunder- 
ing " began again, and the shocks became heavier and 
more frequent until half-past three (before it would 
have been light if the sky had been clear), when 
the last house in the whole place had been laid in 
ruins. The earth split open with a cracking that 
could be distinctly heard above the awful thunder- 
ing of the mountain. Out of the fissures jets of 
hot water rose for a moment, and then the earth 
closed again, to open in another place. An edu- 
cated gentleman, who, from his great wealth, gen- 
erosity, and liberality, is justly known as the 
" Prince of the Moluccas," assured me that Avhen 
two men were about one thousand yards apart, one 
would see the other rise until his feet seemed as high 
as the head of the observer, then immediately he 
would sink and the observer rise until he seemed as 



GREAT EARTHQUAKE. 3Q3 

mucli above his fellow a's lie liad been below him be- 
fore. Tlie published accounts entirely agree with 
this statement. For fifteen hours the solid ground 
thus rolled like the sea, but the heaviest wave did 
not occur till ten o'clock on the 15th of February. 
Fort Orange, which had withstood all the shocks of 
two hundred and thirty years, was partly thrown 
down, and wholly buried under a mass of pumice- 
stone and the dehns of the forests above it. The 
people, as soon as this last day of destruction com- 
menced, betook themselves to their boats, for, while 
the land was heaving like a troubled ocean, the sea 
continued quiet ; no great wave came in to complete 
the work of destruction on the shore. It seemed, in- 
deed, as if the laws that govern these two great ele- 
ments had been suddenly exchanged, and the fixed 
land had become the mobile sea. The whole loss 
caused by this devastating phenomenon was estimated 
at four hundred thousand Mexican dollars ; and yet, 
after all this experience, so great was the attachment 
of both foreigners and natives to this particular spot, 
that they would not select some one less dangerous 
on the neighboring shores, but all returned and 
once more began to build their houses for another 
earthquake to lay in the dust, proving that the com- 
mon remark in regard to them is literally true, that 
" they are less afraid of fire than the Hollanders are 
of water." The present city, however, judging by 
the area of the ruins, is not more than two-thirds the 
size of the former one. Its total population is about 
9,000. Of these, 100 are Europeans, 300 mestizoes, 
200 Arabs, 400 Chinese, and the others natives of 



304 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

tliis and tlie adjoining islands. It is divided into 
two parts, tlie soutliern or European quarter, known 
by tlie peculiar name Malayu, and nortli of this tlie 
CMnese and Arab quarter. Near tlie latter is Fort 
Orange, wMcli was built in 1607, as early as tlie set- 
tlement of Jamestown. In 1824 this fort was pro- 
nounced by the governor-general the best in all the 
ISTetheiiands India. Beyond the fort is " the palace " 
of the Sultan of Ternate, and north of this is the 
native village. The palace is a small residence, built 
in the European style, and stands on a terrace, facing 
a wide, beautiful lawn, that descends to the sea. 
Near it is a flag-staff, which leans over as if soon to 
fall, a fit emblem of the decaying power of its owner, 
whose ancestors were once so mighty as to make the 
Dutch regard them with fear as well as with 
respect. 

According to Yalentyn, who gathered his infor- 
mation from the native records, there were formerly 
in Gilolo a number of independent states, each with 
its " kolano " or chief. In about A. d. 1250, two 
hundred and seventy years before any European 
sailed in these seas, a great migration took place to 
the neighboring islands, and a village named Tabona 
was formed on the top of this mountain, which has 
been an active volcano ever since it was known to 
Europeans. In a. d. 1322, many Javanese and 
Arabs came here to buy cloves. This is the first 
historical record we have of the spice-trade. The 
inhabitants of Obi and Bachian now united to coun- 
teract the growing power of the prince of Ternate, 
but this union effected little, for, in a. d. 1350, Mo- 



FERDINAND MAGELLAN. 305 

lomateya, wlio was then reigning at Ternate, learned 
from the Arabs liow to build vessels, and, having pre- 
pared a fleet, conquered the Sula Islands. The Arabs 
and Javanese meantime made great exertions to con- 
vert these people to Mohammedanism, and in a. d. 
1460,* a little more than two centuries after it had 
been introduced into Java, Mahum, the prince of Ter- 
nate, became a Mohammedan " through the influence 
of the Javanese." About this time Malays and Chi- 
nese came from Banda to j)urchase cloves, which they 
sold to Indian traders at Malacca. In 1512 Francisco 
Serano, v/hose vessel struck on the Turtle Islands, 
when returning with D'Abreu from Amboina and 
Banda, induced the natives to assist him in getting 
his ship afloat while the rest of the fleet were return- 
ing to Malacca, and to ^^il^t him to Ternate; and 
thus he was the first European who reached the great 
centre of the clove-trade. In 1521 the fleet of Magel- 
lan anchored off Tidore, an island separated from 
Ternate by only a narrow strait. 

Ferdinand Magellan, who organized this fleet, was 
a Portuguese nobleman. He sailed, however, under 
the patronage of Charles V. of Spain. On the 20th 
of September, 1519, he left the port of St. Lucas with 
" five small ships of from sixty to one hundred and 
thirty tons," his object being to find Siioestern passage 
to the Indies, particularly the Spice Islands. Coast- 



* This date is corroborated by Pigafetta, wbo wrote in 1521, and 
remarks in regard to this point : " Hardly fifty years have elapsed since 
the Moors (Arabs) conquered (converted) Malucco (the Moluccas), and 
dwelt there. Previously these islands were peopled with Gentiles (i. e., 
heathen) only." 
20 



306 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

ing soutliward along the shores of Brazil, lie found 
tlie strait wMcli still continues to bear his name. This 
he passed through with three ships, one having been , 
wrecked, and one having turned back. For one 
hundred and sixteen days he continued sailing in a 
northwest direction, over (as it seemed to them) an 
endless ocean. Their food became exhausted, but 
they yet kept on the same course until at last their 
eyes were blessed with the sight of land. Pigafetta, a 
member of this expedition, thus pictures their suffer- 
ings : " On Wednesday, the 28th day of November, 
1520, we issued from the strait, engulfing ourselves 
in the ocean, in which, without comfort or consola- 
tion of any kind, we sailed for three months and 
twenty days. We ate biscuit which was biscuit no 
longer, but a wormy powder, for the worms had 
eaten the substance, what remained being fetid with 
the urine of rats and mice. The dearth was such 
that we were compelled to eat the leathers with 
which the yards of the ships were j)rotected from 
the friction of the ropes. This leather, too, having 
been long exposed to the sun, rain, and wind, had 
become so hard that it was necessary to soften it by 
immersion in the sea for four or five days, after which 
it was broiled on the embers and eaten. We had to 
sustain ourselves by eating sawdust, and a rat was 
in such request that one was sold for half a ducat." 

The first islands Magellan saw were those he 
named the Ladrones or " Islands of Thieves." ^' From 
those he came to the Philippines, and on one of these 
(Mactan, near Zebu) he was murdered by the na- 

* Yide Piffafetta in Orawfurd's "Diet. India Islands." 



.CATHOLICISM IN THE MOLUCCAS. 307 

tives, as was also Barbosa, a gentleman of Lisbon, wIlo 
tiad previously visited and described India, and from 
wliose writings we liave frequently liad occasion to 
quote. From Zebu, Magellan's companions sailed to 
the northern part of Borneo and Tidore. Thence 
they continued southward, touching at Bachian and 
Timur, in 1522, and finally arrived safely back 
in Spain, having completed the first circumnaviga- 
tion of our globe. This great voyage was accom- 
plished nearly a century before the Pilgrims landed on 
our New-England shores. Soon after the Portuguese 
had established themselves at Ternate, they began to 
teach the natives their Catholic creed, and in 1535 the 
native king, who had accepted that religion and been 
christened at Goa, returned to Ternate and began 
his reign. Other native princes then proposed to 
the Portuguese to become Catholics, if they would 
take them under their protection, and thus Catholi- 
cism began to spread rapidly, but the same year 
all the native converts were destroyed by Moham- 
medans, headed by Cantalino, who was styled " the 
Moluccan Vesper." In 1546, Francis Xavier,^'" a 
Catholic priest, visited Ternate. He afterward went 
back to Malacca and proceeded to China and Japan, 
and returning from the latter country died on an isl- 
and off Macao, near Canton. The Dutch first came 
to Ternate under Admiral, Houtman, in 1578. In 
1605, under Stephen van der Hagen, they stormed 
and took Ternate, and thus drove the Portuguese out 
of the Moluccas, and the island, since that date, has 

* He lias since been canonized, and is worthily considered by Ms 
people a model of piety and devotion to tbe missionary cause. 



308 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN AECHIPELAGO. 

continued in their hands, tlie EnglisL. not being able 
to capture it during tlie early part of tliis century, 
when they took Amboina and the neighboring isl- 
ands. They now continued their strenuous attempts 
to dislodge the Spaniards from their stronghold on 
Tidore, until the besieged, finding themselves con- 
stantly in danger, deserted the whole Moluccas to the 
Dutch in 1664. 

As the Portuguese and Spaniards had been anxious 
to convert the natives to Catholicism, so the Dutch 
were anxious to convert them to Protestantism, but 
they did not, however, labor in the same manner as 
the former. Pigafetta informs us that in eight days 
" all the inhabitants of this island " (Zebu, one of the 
Philippines) " were ba]3tized, and also some of the 
other neighboring islands. In one of the latter we 
set fire to a village " (because the inhabitants would 
neither obey the king of Zebu nor Magellan). " Here 
we planted a wooden cross, as the people were Gen- 
tiles. Had they been Moors " (Arabs), " we should 
have erected a stone column, in token of their hard- 
ness of heart, for the Moors were more difficult of 
conversion than the Gentiles." In three days after 
this conversion, these very natives murdered Magellan, 
and in twelve days more they waylaid and butch- 
ered twenty-four of his comj)auions. The natives 
were first instructed in Protestant doctrines by teach- 
ers in 1621, and in 1623 the first Protestant clergy- 
man came into the Moluccas. This faith has made 
little progress, however, and, except the inhabitants 
of Haruku, Saparua, and Nusalaut, and small com- 
munities at the chief places of Amboina and Ternate, 



FORMER MONOPOLIES. 309 

the whole native population east of Celebes is either 
Mohammedan or heathen. 

The islands on which the clove-tree grew spon- 
taneously, and the ones originally known as " the 
Moluccas," are Ternate, Tidore, Motir, MaMan, and 
Bachian, which are situated in a row oif the west 
coast of the southern half of Gilolo. Of this group 
Tidore and Bachian, only, belong to the j)i'ince of 
Ternate, and the Dutch East India Company, in order 
to make the monopoly they already enjoyed more 
perfect, offered this prince a yearly sum of seventeen 
thousand four hundred guilders, nearly seven thou- 
sand dollars, for the privilege of destroying all 
the clove and nutmeg trees they could find in his 
wide territory; for besides these five islands and 
other smaller ones near them, and also the adjoin- 
ing coast of Gilolo, where the clove-tree was indi- 
genous, it had been introduced by the natives 
themselves into Ceram, Buru, and Amboina, before 
the arrival of the Portuguese. This offer the prince 
accepted in 1652, perhaps because he could not re- 
fuse longer. From that date his power began to de- 
cline, and in 1848 he was unable to make the people 
of the little island of Makian acknowledge his sover- 
eignty, which once extended from north of Gilolo to 
Buton and Muna south of Celebes, a distance of six 
hundred geographical miles. His empire also in- 
cluded the western coast of Celebes ; and the islands 
that lie between it and Bachian, Buru, and a large 
part of Ceram, and one-half the area of Gilolo, were 
within its limits. For a long time expeditions were 
fitted out every year by the Dutch, to search each 



310 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN AECHIPELAGO. 

island anew, and destroy all the trees wliicli had 
sprung up from seed ]3lanted by birds. Another 
such piece of selfishness it would be difficult to find 
in all history. The result of this agreement and this 
policy has been that, for a considerable number of 
years, the income of the government in the Moluccas 
and Bandas, taken together, has not been nearly 
equal to its exj)enses in these islands ; and it is now 
evident to all that very much has been lost by this 
ungenerous and exclusive mode of trade. 

On landing at this village I found a pleasant 
residence with a good English lady, the second it 
had been my good fortune to meet since I left Java. 
After living so long among a people speaking an- 
other language, it is a privilege indeed to hear 
one's native tongue spoken without a foreign accent, 
and to converse with a person whose religion, educa- 
tion, and views of life accord with one's own. On 
these outer borders of civilization, Americans and 
Englishmen are — as we ought to be everywhere — 
members of the same family. 

The same afternoon, as it was clear, I rode with 
an officer up the mountain to a summer-house, two 
thousand four hundred feet above the sea. From 
this high position we had a fine view over the 
wide bay of Dodinga, formed by the opj)Osite re- 
treating coast of Gilolo. High mountains are seen 
to rise in the interior, and several of these are said 
to be volcanoes, either active or extinct. In the 
northern part of the island, opposite the island of 
Morti, the Resident informed me that there was a 
crater which, according to the accounts given him 



THE BLOODHOUNDS OF GILOLO. 311 

by tte officials wlio liad visited it, must be nearly as 
large as the famous one in tlie Tenger Mountains 
on Java. On Morti itself is Mount Tolo, wMcli 
suffered a severe eruj^tion in tlie previous century. 
Before that time Morti was said to be well peopled, 
but now only tlie natives of the adjoining coast of 
Gilolo, who are most notorious pirates, stay there 
from time to time. 

A lara:e number of the natives of Gilolo were 
then here at Ternate. Though frequently called 
" Alfura," they are strictly of the Malay type, and 
have not the dark skin and frizzly hair of the Al- 
fura of Ceram and Burn, though representatives 
of that people may exist in other parts of Gilolo. 
Of the whole population of Gilolo, which is supposed 
to be about twenty-seven thousand, all but five thou- 
sand are under the Sultan of Ternate. During the 
war in Java, from 1825 to 1830, the sultan sent a 
considerable force of his subjects to assist the Dutch, 
and those who were then at Ternate had been 
ordered to come over to hold themselves in readiness 
to aid in suppressing the revolt in Ceram, for the 
Dutch believe in the motto " cut diamond with 
diamond." These natives appear to be quite as mild 
as most Malays, but the foreigners here say that they 
fought so persistently while in Java, that soon they 
were styled " the bloodhounds of Gilolo." A small 
number of Papuans are also seen in the village. 
They were mostly brought here from Papua by the 
fleet that collects the yearly tribute for the Sultan 
of Tidore. While I was at Amboina a very unfavora- 
ble account of them was given by a native captain of 



312 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

Macassar, wlio liad been taken prisoner near this place. 
According to Ms report to tlie government, wlien lie 
returned, all his crew Avas seized and eaten one after 
another, and the only thing that saved him from a 
like fate was that he read parts of the Koran. 
This led them to believe him a priest, and finally in- 
duced them to allow him to depart on the next ves- 
sel that came to their shores. East of Geelvink Bay 
two Dutch expeditions have found that the whole 
poj)ulation, men, women, and children, always go 
absolutely naked. 

On our right, as we looked toward the east from 
our lofty position, the steep, conical peak of Tidore 
was seen rising about six thousand feet above the 
sea. It is one of the sharpest peaks in all this part 
of the archipelago. As it has no crater either at 
the summit or on its sides, there is no vent by 
which the gases beneath it can find a ready escape. 
They must therefore remain confined until they 
have accumulated sufficient power to hurl high 
into the air the whole mass of ashes, sand, and rock 
which presses them down. This is exactly what hap- 
pened at Makian. Professor Reinwardt, who ex- 
amined this peak in 1821, declared that it would be 
blown up in twenty years, and, strange to say, it was 
nineteen years afterward that the terrific eruption of 
Makian, already described, occurred. As the islands 
Ternate, Tidore, Motir, and Makian, are only cones 
standing on the same great fissure in the earth's 
crust. Professor Eeinwardt's prediction was fulfilled 
almost to the very letter. 

The village of Tidore is situated on its southern 



MIGRATION TOWARD MICRONESIA. 313 

side, and is tlie residence of the sultan, whose terri- 
tory is no less extensive than that of the Sultan of 
Ternate. It includes Tidore, Mari, the two eastern 
peninsulas of Gilolo, Gebi, Misol, Salwatti, Battanta, 
and the adjacent islands, the western and north- 
ern shores of the western peninsula of New Guinea, 
and the islands in Geelvink Bay. The population 
of Tidore and Mari is about seven thousand five 
hundred. The former cultivate the flanks of the 
mountain up to a height of about three thousand 
feet. Above this line is a dense wood, but the 
pointed summit is quite bare. The income of this 
sultan consists in his share of the produce obtained 
on Gilolo, in the sago, massoi-bark, tortoise-shell, 
tripang, and paradise-birds, which are yearly brought 
from Pa23ua, and the islands between it and Celebes, 
and in twelve thousand eight hundred guilders (over 
five thousand dollars) paid him by the Dutch Gov- 
ernment, in accordance with the promise made by 
the East India Company, when they destroyed the 
spice-trees in his territory. The extension of the 
empire of Tidore eastward was probably effected by 
Malays, who migrated in that direction; for it is 
stated in regard to Misol that the Papuans, who are 
now driven back into the interior, occupied the 
whole island when it was first visited by Europeans. 
This tendency to push on toward the coast is the 
more interesting, because it is generally supposed 
that, ages and ages ago, the ancestors of the present 
Polynesian race passed out from this part, of the 
Malay Archipelago into Micronesia, and thence into 
the wide area they now occupy. From the northern 



314 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

end of Gilolo, and tlie adjacent island of Morti 
(wliicli is really but a part of tlie northern pen- 
insula), tlie voyage to Lord ISTortli's Island, and 
thence to tlie Pelew group, would not he more 
difficult to accomplisli than the piratical expeditions 
which even the Papuans, an inferior race, are known 
to have made since the Dutch possessed the Mo- 
luccas. 

The taxes on paradise-birds "^ and other articles, 
levied on Papua and the islands near it, are obtained 
by a fleet which is sent out each year from the port 
of Tidore, and which, according to the official re- 
ports of the Dutch, carries out the sultan's orders in 
such a manner that it is little better than a great 
marauding expedition. 

But while we have been engaged in viewing the 
scene before us, and recalling its history, the hours 
have been gliding by, and we are admonished to 
hasten down the mountain by the approaching 
night. When we reached the village, I was shown 
a remarkable case of birth-mark on a young child, 
whose father owned the summer-house we had just 
visited high up on the mountain. A short time pre- 

* Mr. A. E. "Wallace, who has travelled more widely than any other 
naturalist over the region where these magnificent birds are found, 
gives the following complete list pf the species now known, and the 
places they inhabit: Arru Islands, P. apoda and P. regia ; Misol, P. 
regia and P. magnifica ; "Wagiu, P. rubra; Salwatti, P. regia, P. mag- 
nifica, Epimachus alius, and Sericulus aureus ; coast regions of !N"ew 
Guinea generally, Epimachus albus, and Sericulus aureus; central and 
mountainous regions of the northern peninsula of New Guinea, LopTio- 
rina superba, Parotia sexsetacea, Astrapia nigra, Epimachus magnus, 
CraspedopTiora riiagnijica, and probably Dipliylloides Wilsonii and Para 
digalla carunculata. 



A BIRTH-MARK. 3I5 

vious to the birtli of the child, the family were liv- 
ing there. One night a heavy earthquake occurred, 
and a brilliant cloud was seen rising out of the top 
of the mountain. Immediately they began to pre- 
pare to hasten down, and the mother, being greatly 
frightened, attempted to run before, but fell heavily 
on her right arm, bruising it severely in one place. 
Soon afterward the child was born, and on its right 
arm, and exactly in the same relative position as 
where the mother had received the injury from her 
fall, was found a red spot, or mark, which all agreed 
had exactly the outline of the bright cloud seen by 
them on the mountain-top. 

The chief articles of export from this place are 
those brought from the islands to the east, namely, 
tortoise-shell, tripang, paradise - birds, massoi-bark, 
and wax. Up to 1837, paradise-birds formed a very 
important article of export from Ternate. In 1836 
over 10,000 guilders' worth were exported, chiefly 
to China. In 1844 over 10,000 guilders' worth of 
massoi-bark was exported from this small emporiimi. 
It comes from the interior of New Guinea, and is 
sent to Java, where its aromatic oil is used by the 
natives in rheumatic diseases. Until 1844, from 
14,000 to nearly 70,000 guilders' worth of tortoise- 
shell was annually exported, chiefly to China ; but 
since that time it has frequently not exceeded 4,000. 
The chief imports are rice, salt, and cotton goods. 
A merchant who sends a small vessel each year to 
Misol, and along the northern coast of Papua, kindly 
offered me an opportunity to take passage on her ; 
but as it would be about six months before she 



316 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

would come back to Surabaya, in Java, I was in 
cloulbt wlietlier I ouglit to go farther east, especially 
as Mr. Wallace had obtained little at Dorey, tlie 
only port on tlie nortli coast, and besides, it lias tlie 
unfavorable reputation of being one of tlie most 
sickly jDlaces in tlie whole archipelago. The two 
missionaries stationed at that place are now here, 
having been obliged to return on account of re- 
peated and severe attacks of fever. I was told that 
the residents of Dorey are only free from this dis- 
ease when they have a running sore on some part 
of the body. While I was thus doubting whither to 
direct my course, the man-of-war stationed to watch 
for pirates in the Molucca Passage, between this 
island and the northern end of Celebes, came into 
port. She would return immediately to Kema, a 
port on the eastern shore of the northern peninsula 
of Celebes, and her commander kindly offered to 
take me over to the " Minahassa," as the Dutch call 
the northern extremity of that island. I had long 
heard this spoken of as decidedly the most charming 
part of the archipelago, and probably the most beau- 
tiful spot in the world. But a moment was needed, 
therefore, to decide whether I would go to the sickly 
coast of Papua, or visit that beautiful land, and I ac- 
cepted the commander's invitation with many thanks. 
I had been on this island four days, and we had had 
four earthquakes. Indeed, the mountain seemed 
preparing for another grand eruption, and I was not 
loath to le^ve its shores. So great is the danger of 
its inhabitants being entombed alive by night in the 
ruins of their own dwellings, that all the foreigners 



THE MOLUCCA PASSAGE. 31Y 

Have a small sleeping-liouse in tlie rear of the one 
occupied by day. Tlie walls of tlie larger one are 
usually of brick or stone, but those of tbe sleeping- 
house are always made of gaha-gaha, the dried mid- 
ribs of large palm-leaves, which, when placed on end, 
will suj)port a considerable weight, and yet are al- 
most as light as cork. The roof is of atajp^ a thatch- 
ing of dry palm-leaves, and the whole structure is 
therefore so light that no one would be seriously 
injured should it fall on its sleeping occupants. 
Such continual, torturing solicitude changes this 
place, fitted, by its fine climate, luxuriant vegetation, 
and beautiful scenery, for a paradise, into a perfect 
purgatory. 

On the morning of the 12th of December we 
steamed out of the roads for Kema. Soon we 
passed near the southeast end of Ternate, and the 
commander pointed out to me a small lake only 
separated from the sea by a narrow wall, and in- 
formed me that when the Portuguese held the island 
they attemj)ted to cut a canal through the wall or 
dike, and use this lake as a dock — certainly a very 
feasible plan ; but for some reason, probably because 
they were so continually at war with their rivals, the 
Spaniards, they did not carry it out. This lake is 
said to be deep enough to float the largest ships, and 
is, I believe, nothing more than an old, extinct crater. 
On our larboard hand now was Mitarra, a steep vol- 
canic cone as high as the Gunong Api at Banda, but 
appearing much smaller from being, as it were, be- 
neath the lofty peak of Tidore. It also is of volcanic 
fonnation. We now came out into the Molucca Pas- 



318 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

sage, and were steering west, and I could feel tliat 
at least my face was turned liomeward, a thouglit 
sufficient to give any one a deep thrill of pleasure 
wlio liad wandered so far. 

Tlie wind being ahead, and our vesel steaming 
slowly, we did not expect to see the opposite shore 
until the next day, much to my satisfaction, for it 
gave me a good opportunity to learn from the offi- 
cers many particulars about the pirates in these seas. 
Piracy has probably existed among these islands ever 
since they were first peopled. It was undoubtedly 
plunder, and not trade, that stimulated the natives 
to attempt the first expedition that was ever made 
over these waters. Piracy is described in the ear- 
liest Malay romances, and spoken of by these natives, 
not as a failing of their ancestors, but as an occasion 
for glorying in their brave deeds. Such has also 
been the case in the most enlightened parts of the 
earth, when civilization and Christianity had made 
no further progress in those regions than it has here 
among the Malays. It has also been prevalent along 
the northern shores of Europe and the British Isles. 
The only reason that it was not a common practice 
among our Indians was because they had not made 
sufficient progress in the arts to construct large boats, 
and were obliged to confine their plundering expedi- 
tions to rivers and lakes, and could not sail on the 
stormy ocean. 

Pirates have been as numerous on the coasts of 
China for centuries as they are now. Sometimes 
they have come to the Philippines and. the northern 
parts of Borneo, but rarely or never among these 



MALAY PIRATES. 3I9 

islands. Wlien the Europeans first came to the 
East, pirates abounded in every part of the archipel- 
ago, particularly in the Straits of Malacca, in the 
Sulu archipelago, between Borneo and Mindanao, 
and especially on the southern shores of the latter 
island. The establishment of a large port at Singa- 
pore by the English, and a settlement on Rhio by 
the Dutch, have quite scattered them from the former 
region, but they continue to infest the Sulu Sea and 
the southern part of the Philippines. They come 
down here in the middle of the western monsoon, 
that is, in January and February, and return in 
the beginning of the eastern monsoon, so as to 
have fair wind both ways, and be here during the 
calms that prevail in these seas in the changing of 
the monsoons, when the large number of oars 
they use enables them to attach their prey as they 
please. They appear to come mostly from the 
shores of Lanun Bay, on the south coast of Min- 
danao. From Dampier we learn that in 1686 they 
were an inland people. " The Hilanoones," he says, 
" live in the heart of the country " (Mindanao). " They 
have little or no commerce by sea, yet they have 
praus that row with twelve or fourteen oars apiece. 
They enjoy the benefit of the gold-mines, and, with 
their gold, buy foreign commodities of the Mindanao 
people." They are now the most daring pirates in 
these seas. Last year the man-of-war on this station 
had the good fortune to surprise five boats, one of 
them carrying as many as sixty men. At first they 
attempted to escape by means of their oars, but her 
shot and shell soon began to tear them to pieces. 



320 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

Tliey tlien 23ulled in toward the shore and jumped 
overboard, but, by this time, they had come near 
a village, and the natives at once all turned out 
with their spears, the only weapons they had, and 
scoured the woods for these murderers until, as far as. 
could be ascertained, not one of them was left alive. 
They seldom attack a European vessel, but, when 
they do and succeed, they take revenge for the severe 
punishment their countrymen receive from the Dutch 
war-shij)s, and not one white man is left to tell the 
tale of capture and massacre. The vessels that they 
prey on chiefly are the small schooners commanded 
by mestizoes and manned by Malays, which carry on 
most of the trade between the Dutch ports in these 
islands. One of those vessels was taken and de- 
stroyed by these murderers last year while sailing 
down the coast from Kema. The whites and mesti- 
zoes are always murdered, and the Malay crews are 
kept as slaves. While I was at Kema two Malays 
appeared at the house of the officer with whom I was 
residing, and said they were natives of a small village 
on the bay of Gorontalo ; and that, while they were 
fishing, they had been captured by a fleet of pirates, 
who soon after set out on their homeward voyage ; 
and, while the fleet was passing Sangir, a small island 
between the northern end of Celebes and Mindanao, 
they succeeded in escaping by jumping overboard and 
swimming a long distance to the shore. They had 
now reached Kema, on their voyage to^tard Goron- 
talo, and they came to the officer to apply for food, 
clothing, and some means of reaching their homes 
once more. Such cases are specially provided for by 



A CHALLENGE FROM THE PIRATES. 321 

the Dutcli Government, and their request was imme- 
diately granted. A few years ago tliese pirates sent 
a challenge to the Dutch fleet at Batavia to come and 
meet them in the Strait of Macassar, and several 
officers assured me that five ships were sent. When 
they arrived there no pirates were to be seen, but to 
this day all believe the challenge was a lona fide one, 
and that the only reason that the pirates were not 
ready to carry out their part was because more men- 
of-war appeared than they had anticipated. A short 
time after I arrived back at Batavia, a fleet of these 
plunderers was destroyed in that very strait. One 
chief, who was taken on the opposite coast of Borneo 
a few years ago, acknowledged that he had previously 
commanded two expeditions to the Macassar Strait, 
and that, though the Dutch war-ships had destroyed 
his fleet both times, he had been able to escape by 
swimming to the shore. At Kema I saw one of the 
five praus that were taken in that vicinity last year. 
It was an open boat about fifty feet long, twelve 
wide, and four deep. There were places for five 
oars on each side. At the bow and stern was a 
kind of deck or platform, and in the middle of each 
a small vertical post, on which was placed a long 
swivel, throwing a pound-ball. They do not, how- 
ever, depend on these small cannon, but always get 
alongside a vessel as soon as possible, and then board 
her at the same moment on all sides in overpowering 
numbers. It is almost impossible to catch them un- 
less it is done by surprise, and this they carefully 
guard against by means of spies on the shore. Our 
captain informed me that several times when he has 

21 



322 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

suddenly appeared on some part of tlie adjacent 
coasts, fires have been instantly liglited on tlie 
tops of the neighboring hills, evidently as signals to 
pirates in the immediate vicinity. As soon as they 
receive this alarm they hide away in the shallow 
creeks and bays among the mangrove -trees, so that 
a war- vessel might steam past them again and again 
without discovering the slightest indication of where 
they are concealed. To the Dutch almost exclusive- 
ly belongs the honor of having rendered the naviga- 
tion of these seas so comparatively safe as it now is. 
The English have assisted in the western part of 
the archipelago, but the Spaniards, from whose terri- 
tory these marauders now come, have effected little 
toward removing this pest from the Philippines, 
where it is as rife as it was two hundred years ago. 



CHAPTER X. 

THE ISrOETHERN PENESTSULA OF CELEBES. 

0]sr tlie morning of tlie IStli of December Mount 
Klabat, a conical volcanic mountain attaining an ele- 
vation of six thousand five hundred feet, appeared on 
the horizon; and soon after, north of Klabat, was 
seen Mount Sudara, " The Sisters," a twin cone whose 
highest peak is about four thousand four hundred feet 
above the sea. North of this again is Batu angus, 
two thousand three hundred feet in height. Its name 
in Malay means " the hot rock," but it is really a large 
volcano, whose top has been blown off and a great 
crater thus formed ; and this shows the fearful fate 
that awaits each of the other two cones, as soon as 
the gases pent up beneath their mighty masses have 
acquired the necessary power. We now approached 
Limbi, a high, uninhabited island with abrupt shores 
extending in a northwest and southeast direction, and 
soon after came to anchor in the road off Kema, the 
coast here curving inward so as to form a small bay. 
This is the port used now in the western monsoon. 
During the eastern monsoon, steamers and ships go 
round the northern end of Celebes to Menaclo, in 
the Strait of Macassar. Kema is a village of two 
thousand inhabitants. Its streets are very broad, 



324 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

and cross eacli otlier at right angles. Tlie lionses are 
well built, and placed on piles twelve or eighteen 
inches in diameter and six feet high — a remnant of 
the old custom of placing their huts on high posts 
to avoid attacks of enemies, which was practised by 
these people previous to the arrival of Europeans. 
It is certainly a good custom, not only because all 
such unwelcome intruders as the large snakes, which 
are very numerous here, are thus avoided, but also 
to keep the house dry and cool, by allowing a free 
circulation of air beneath. Each house has a small 
plot of ground, and this is separated from that 
of its neighbor by hedges, which also border the 
streets, and give the whole village a charming air 
compared to the irregular, unsightly ap|)earance of 
those I had been visiting. Most of the streets are 
also lined with shade-trees, and in the gardens, be- 
hind the hedges, are rows of orange-trees, some of 
their branches bearing flowers, some green fruit, and 
some drooping under the abundance of their golden- 
yellow loads. 

The controleur here kindly received me into his 
house. He was just going to Limbi, an island five 
or six miles north of Kema, to try to take some liv- 
ing habirusa for the governor-general's garden at 
Buitenzorg, back of Batavia. That was exactly such 
an excursion as suited my fancy, and I was very 
willing to accept his invitation to join him before I 
began a journey I had been planning over to Menado, 
and thence up into the interior. While we were pre- 
paring for our excursion, another gentleman, Mr. K., 
decided to join us. 



A HUNT FOR BABIRUSA. 325 

December 'iOtJi. — A bright, clear day, and just 
suitable for starting on our hunt. We have a ship's 
long-boat and a small praii, both containing about 
twenty natives, and a large pack of dogs to start up 
the game. The controleur is the captain of our boat, 
and an old, gray Malay, who has been a seaman and 
a whaler for most of his days, is the coxswain of 
the other, and pilot for both. For ballast we have 
a full load of rice, our two boats carrying only half 
the whole party, the other |)ortion — twenty-five na'- 
tives and half as many dogs — went yesterday, 
under the charge of the second native chief of the 
village, who rejoices in the euphonious title of 
Hukom 1-cadua^ but the Dutch call him the " Sec- 
ond Head." From Kema up to the strait, between 
Limbi and Celebes, we had a light air off the shore. 
A thin cloud, like a veil of gauze, gathered on the 
heads of the twin-peaks known as " The Sisters," 
and fell do^vn in rich graceful folds over their green 
shoulders. From the crests of all these peaks, down 
to the high- water line on the shore, is one dense, un- 
broken forest. There dwells the sa/pi uhmg or 
" wild ox," probably not indigenous, but descended 
from the tame sapi introduced from Java and Ma- 
dura. The natives describe them as being exceed- 
ingly fierce, both the cows and the bulls. Here that 
peculiar antelope, the Anoa dejpressicornis, H. Smith, 
abounds. In these same dense, undisturbed forests 
the babirusa {Babirum alfurus^ Less.) is found in 
large numbers ; and a species of Sus, much like the 
lean hog that lives in the forests of our Southern 
States, is very abundant. As soon as we entered 



326 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

the strait we found a strong current against us, and 
landed on tlie soutli side in a small bay to take our 
luncli. Again we rowed and beat until we came to 
tlie narrowest part of tlie strait, wliere liigli, per- 
pendicular walls of rock rise on either hand. Tlie 
tide wliiclL sets toward tlie east, that is before the 
wind, now changed, and away we shot between 
the overhanging crags with the sj)eed of an arrow. 
Outside of these narrows the shores open on both 
sides, so that almost at once we were exposed to the 
full strength of the stormy monsoon. The strong tide 
running against the wind rolled up a high, irregular 
sea ; in fact, the ocean seemed to boil. " Have you 
any idea that we can land on that exposed shore 
in the midst of such a surf ? " I asked the controleur. 
" "Well, it is getting dreadfully rough," was his in- 
definite reply. The old Malay pilot, who had kept 
his boat ahead, now stood up, and seeing the combing 
waves, into which the strong ciuTcnt was raj^idly 
driving us, shouted out to the controleur^ '■''Dra hisa 
Tumi ! " " It is impossible, sir ! It is impossible, sir ! " 
Instantly we tacked and stood over toward the Celebes 
side, and, under the guidance of the old whaler, soon 
entered a small, well-sheltered bay. Near its middle 
part the island of Limbi is very narrow, and across 
that place had been stretched a series of strong nets 
made of rope a quarter of an inch in diameter, the 
meshes being about six inches square. Our plan was 
to commence driving at the northern end of the isl- 
and and force the wild babirusas into this trap ; but 
it was already quite dark, and the place where the 
Tiuhom had landed was a long way to windward, and 



A CAMP BY THE SEA. 






we therefore concluded to camp here to-night. For 
a tent we cut poles from the neighboring bunches of 
bamboo and covered them with the boat's sail and 
an old tarpaulin. Our friend K., who was extreme- 
ly careful not to boast of being a good sailor, be- 
came exceedingly frightened while we were in the 
midst of the combing waves, and asked me, half a 
dozen times during the evening, if the tide would 
not rise so high as to wash us off this steep shore 
before morning, but I tried to quiet his nerves by 
assuring him that such a thing could not happen un- 
less the earth should sink, a very possible thing now 
that I come to think of it, for that very beach was com- 
posed of black volcanic sand, and we were almost 
beneath a cone, which rose on the flanks of Batib 
angus, and had been formed so recently that even the 
luxuriant vegetation of these tropics had not yet had 
time to gain a footing on its dark sides. In order 
to get a partial shelter from the heavy showers we 
expected before morning, we pitched our camp be- 
neath the sturdy branches of an old tree. There 
we slept while the wind, in heavy gusts, sighed 
through the dense foliage over our heads, and at our 
feet rose the heavy, pulsating roar of the ocean-surf 

December 21s^. — After passing a comfortable 
night, notwithstanding the fears of our' companion 
that we should awake before morning, and find our- 
selves in the midst of the sea, we again attempted 
to reach the northern end of Limbi, but, as soon as 
we got out of the bay, we struck into such a heavy 
sea that our men could not take us to windward, and 
were therefore obliged to put back once more. This 



328 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

time, to vary tlie scenery, we passed tlirougli the nar- 
rows, and encamped on a cliarming little beacli on 
the island side of the strait, between two high, pre- 
cipitous crags. Our first care was, of course, to con- 
struct a tent, a work soon finished by our large crew. 
At 11 A. M. we all felt a heavy earthquake-shock, 
which lasted, apparently,^ thirty seconds ; but these 
are frequent phenomena in this part of Celebes. On 
the 25th of last month, not four weeks ago, there was 
a very heavy earthquake over the whole Minahassa. 
At Kema we could still see great rents in the ground, 
three or four inches wide, which could be traced for 
several rods. The shock was so severe that nearly 
every article of glass or earthen-ware in the conti'O- 
leur's house was broken into fragments. Indeed, as 
I look up now toward the west, I do not wonder 
the earth heaves beneath us like a troubled sea ; for 
there rises the old volcano known in olden times 
as Mount Tonkoko. It has a great yawning crater, 
six hundred feet deep, out of which are rising thick, 
white clouds of gas. On the northwest side a deep 
ravine cuts through its flanks, and opens out into the 
crater. Farther down this same side is the new cone, 
beneath which we pitched our camp last night. In 
1806 a great eruption began in this old volcano, and 
ashes, sand, and pumice-stone vf ere thrown out in great 
quantities. At Ayar-madidi the ashes were fine and 
of a gray color, and covered the ground with a layer 
an inch thick. For two days the heavens were 
darkened by the great quantity of these light mate- 
rials floating in the air. So many stones were ejected, 
that at a distance of nearly three miles a new cone 



A FISHING EXCURSION. 329 

was formed, from wliicli a long tongue of land 
stretched itself into the sea. This 2:>oint the natives 
called Batu angus, " the Hot Hock,"' and since that 
time the whole volcano has been known by that 
name. Some of the pumice-stones were said to have 
been as large as the native huts, but so changed into 
a kind of foam by the actiqji of heat, that they readily 
floated on the sea. 

Soon after sunset I went out to fish in a small 
canoe with the controleur and his old pilot. The 
place we chose was under a high, perpendicular ]3re- 
cij)ice that rose up out of the dark water like an ar- 
tificial wall. ■ Here we remained while the rocks grew 
higher and higher and more and more overhanging 
as the daylight faded, and the approaching night 
blended the sharp outlines and increased the magni- 
tude of every object around us. Near by was a deej) 
ravine, and from its farthermost recesses rolled out 
the reverberating, moaning cries of monkeys, who 
all night long keep up a 23iteous calling, each answer- 
ing his fellow in the same mournful tones. 

Our lines were just about as large as a mackerel- 
line. The hooks each native makes for himself, 
from brass wdre, and about a fathom of wire is at- 
tached to each hook before the line is fastened to it, 
ill order to prevent the fish from severing the cord 
with their sharp teeth. For bait, small fish are taken. 
Ill fishing at anchor, no leads are used, but, instead 
of them, a kind of sling of palm-leaf is fastened to 
each hook. This sling contains a small stone, so 
fixed that it will carry down the line, but drop out 
as soon as it touches the bottom. After we had 



330 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

olbtained a good supply of fine fish, we slowly passed 
along the Mgli, well-slieltered shore, while the 
heavy wind sighed through the lofty branches over 
our heads. Now a gleam of light comes over the 
dark water, just beyond that high bluff; we are near 
the camp, and in a few moments stand again on the 
beach. This day is done, ^nd yet the storm continues, 
but we hope we may be more favored to-morrow. 

December '2'id. — ^Last night I soon fell asleep after 
such vigorous use of the paddle, though the storm 
wailed, and my couch was any thing but a bed of down. 
At midnight a troubled dream disturbed my brain. 
An indefinite horror thrilled along my veins as I fan- 
cied for a moment that I was whirling round such a 
deep yawning maelstrom as Poe has pictured, and 
then literally " a change came o'er the spirit . of my 
dream," but scarcely a change for the better, for I 
was fixed in the midst of a water-spout, and, in my 
struggles to escape, awoke and found a great stream 
of water pouring down on me from the tarpaulin 
that formed the roof of our tent. A heavy shower 
had come oh, and the water was all running into a 
depression in the sail over me, in which, of course, 
there was a hole, so that the whole formed one big 
tunnel. Of course, both K. and the controleur en- 
joyed my discomfiture greatly, but I consoled myself 
with the thought that long before daylight they 
would find themselves in the same plight ; and the 
next morning, apparently, the thing that was farthest 
from their thoughts was to inquire of me in regard 
to the water-spout. 

That portion of the party that had left Kema in 



A BABIRUSA COMMITS SUICIDE. 33I 

advance of us had taken little rice. The controleur. 



therefore, thought we must make a third attempt to 
reach the northern end of the island, notwithstand- 
ing K.'s earnest entreaties to be only taken back to 
Kema once more. We had not reached the narrows, 
however, before we met the hukom with all his men 
and dogs. They had found the surf so high that 
the only way most of his men had been able to 
reach their boats, was to run down the steep rocks 
and plunge head foremost into the combing waves. 
We now landed a few natives to scour the woods, 
and finally come to the southern end of the island, 
while we went round in the boats. In order to make 
their way through the dense forest, instead of putting 
on more clothing as a protection against the sticks and 
stones and thorny vines, they stripped off what little 
they wore, except a narrow band over the loins. At 
the southern end of the island was a small, deep bay, 
and here we encamj)ed for the third time. Soon the 
natives came in, but they had secured only two wild 
hogs. I 231'eserved the skull of one, a female, in 
which the canine teeth were not as long as those of 
a male. The hukom declared that in the babirusa 
only the males have the long curved teeth, which the 
Malays have fancied resemble the antlers of a deer. 
While waiting for us, he had been hunting in the 
vicinity of his camp, and had taken one female by 
driving her to the end of a high point. As soon as 
she saw there was no chance for her to escaj)e, she 
leaped down the precipice and was killed by the 
fall. Such suicide, he says, is frequently resorted to 
by that animal when it finds it can retreat no farther. 



332 TRAVELS m THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

The wild liogs plunge into tlie water to avoid tlie 
dogs, and tlie natives tlien pursue tliem in boats and 
Mil tliem witli spears. As soon as the hunters return 
to camp, they cut up the hogs, and smoke the pieces 
over a smouldering fire. The dogs now skulk about 
to seize a piece if possible, and while the natives are 
crouching round the fire transforming the lean pork 
into tough bacon, you are frequently startled by a 
sharp yelping as some one finds his portion disappear- 
ing beneath the jaws of one of these hungry brutes, 
and a liberal chastisement is at once administered to 
the thief with the first stick or club at hand. 

Decemher 2Sd. — Last night there was another 
heavy shower. The water poured down in torrents 
through our thatching of palm-leaves, for we had 
already found that both the boat's sail and the old 
tarpaulin afforded little protection here where the 
water appears to fall in broad sheets. Late in the 
evening the controleicr came back from fishing. We 
could hear the Malays that were pulling his boat 
singing in an unusually loud and merry style, and all 
gathered on the beach to see what wonderful monster 
of the deep they had secured. It proved to be a fish 
as large as a horse-mackerel, and weighing fully two 
hundred pounds, which the controleiir had succeed- 
ed in taking with a small line by chancing to get it 
alongside the boat and securing it by gaffs. As our 
stock of rice was getting low, we decided to return, 
though I could scarcely feel satisfied, for I had hoped 
to get a complete skeleton of the rare babirusa ; how- 
ever, the controleur more than made up the loss by 
giving me half a dozen skulls of the equally rare ante- 



ENORMOUS SNAKES. - .333 

lope of tliis region. We now crossed over to tlie 
Celebes side to a villas-e of four or five liuts, to he 
sheltered from the heavy rains that have drenched 
us every night but one since we left Kema. A few 
natives have moved here from Kema because they 
take many fish off this part of the coast, and there is 
a small stream emptying into the sea in the vicin- 
ity. They live almost wholly by fishing, and have 
cleared only a small place near their houses for a gar- 
den of Indian corn. This evening they have shown 
me one of the monsters of these forests. It was an 
enormous python. Its head has been taken off, but by 
careful measurement I find it must have been at least 
fifteen feet long. It was killed here the day before 
yesterday by one of the natives living in the house 
where we are now sheltered from the rain. Missing 
his dog, he chanced to go to the brook where they 
get water, and there he found this monstrous reptile 
trying to swallow his favorite. As quietly as ^^os- 
sible he stole back to the village and gave the alarm, 
and at once all went out and succeeded in cutting off 
its head before it could disgorge its prey and attack 
them. The natives are now takins; off the skin to 
make rude moccasins, which they frequently use 
when hunting in the woods, or more especially when 
travelling through the tall, sharp-edged prairie-grass. 
They all agree that this tough, scaly skin is much 
more durable for such a purpose than the best kind 
of leather. Our old boatman tells me that he once 
killed one of those great reptiles on Limbi, while it 
was trying to swallow a wild pig. All the natives 
assert that this monster sometimes attacks the wild ox. 



334 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

sapi utung^ thougli none of theni have ever seen sucli 
a dreadful combat. The controleur states to me that 
when he was stationed at Bachian, near the southern 
end of Gilolo, he was once out hunting deer, at a 
place called Patola, with a large party of natives. 
They had succeeded in starting up several, and he 
himself saw one of them pass under a tree and at the 
same instant a great snake came down from one of 
the lower limbs and caught the flying deer with his 
jaws. Unfolding his tail from the limb, he instantly 
wound round his victim, crushing its bones as if they 
were straw. An alarm was given, and the natives 
gathered with their spears and killed the great rep- 
tile on the spot. It was not as large round as this 
one, but longer. Many of our men tell me that they 
once assisted in killing a larger snake than this at 
the bathing-place back of Kema. It had seized a 
hog, whose squealing soon gave all the inhabitants a 
warning of what had happened. They also say (and 
this remarkable story has since been repeated to me 
by several other persons at Kema) that a few years ago 
a native boy went out as usual to work in his ladcmg, 
or garden, some distance from the village. At night 
he did not return, and the next morning a native 
chanced to pass the garden and saw one of these 
great monsters trying to swallow the boy head first, 
having already crushed the bones of its victim. He 
at once returned to the village, and a large party 
of natives went out and found the snake and its 
prey exactly as had been reported, and immediately 
killed it with such weapons as they had, and gave 
the body of their young friend a decent burial. 



FROM KEMA TO MENADO. 335 

While tliey were telling me these stories I thougM 
of tlie dan2:er to wliicli I must often have been uncon- 
seiously exposed while wandering mile after mile 
through the jungles on Burn, never suspecting that, 
before I left the archipelago, I myself should be 
forced into a deadful combat with one of these mon- 
sters, and in such a place that one or the other must 
die on the spot. 

The next day we returned to Kema, and I began 
my journey over the peninsula to Menado, and thence 
up to the plateau in the interior. 

December ^Qth. — At 9 a. m. started on horseback, 
the only mode of travelling in the Minahassa, for Mena- 
do, the largest village in this peninsula of Celebes, and 
the place where the Resident of this region is located. 
I went there first, in order to see the Resident and 
obtain letters to the oflicials of the interior. The 
distance from Kema to Menado is about twenty miles. 
The road is made only for carts, but nearly all the 
way it is lined with shade-trees, and in several places, 
for long distances, they meet overhead so as to form 
a continuous covered way, thus affording to those 
who travel to and fro an admirable shelter from the 
hot sunshine and heavy showers. Among these trees 
were many crows, Gorvus enka, not shy as they always 
are in our country, but so tame that I frequently rode 
within ten yards of where they were sitting without 
causing them to move. Numbers of a bright-yellow 
bird, about as large as our robin, were seen among 
the branches, and on the ground another somewhat 
larger than a blackbird, Dicrurus^ with a long, lyre- 
shaped tail, and a plumage of shining blue-black. 



336 TEAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN AECHIPELAGO. 

TLese birds rarely or never liear the report of a gun, 
and therefore have not learned to look on man as a 
universal destroyer, and the tameness they manifest 
is perfectly charming. Even the black crow, with its 
hoarse caw, becomes an attractive bird when you 
find he no longer tries to shun your company, but 
makes all the overtures he can to be social. 

The road runs along the southern flanks of Mount 
lOabat, and is slowly ascending from Kema to 
Ayar-i|jiadicli, which is about half-way across, and then 
slowly descends again to the western shore of the 
j)eninsula. On my right hand was a deep valley, 
and fine scenery was occasionally revealed through 
the foliage of the trees that covered the way. On 
the opposite side of the valley were many small pro- 
jecting ridges that have been formed by denuding 
torrents, and extend down to the level of the stream 
that flows out from the lake of Tondano to the ocean 
at Kema. 

By noon I came to the village of Ayar-madidi, 
" Hot Water," a name it receives from a neighboring 
spring, which in former times was hot. As it comes 
out of Mount Klabat, it was probably heated by the 
volcanic action that raised that great mountain, which 
is only an extinct volcano. As the volcanic action 
decreased, the heat passed off, until now, the water is 
as cool as that of any other stream in the vicinity. 
Even as late as the 12th of November, 1848, this 
water was described as " cooking hot." According 
to Valentyn, in the year 1683, a great eruption took 
place in a mountain near Menado, which he calls 
" Kemaas," and all the surrounding country was laid 



ERUPTION OF MOUNT KEMAAS. QQt^ 

waste. " Kemaas" Dr. Jungliiilin lias supposed to be 
Klabat, but he never visited tliis region, and tlie coni- 
cal summit of Klabat sliows its destruction by heavy 
eruptions has not yet begun. It is far more proba- 
ble that Kemaas was the mountain now known as 
Sudara, whose two peaks are only the fragments of 
the upper part of the cone that were left standing 
when the eruptive force blew off the other parts, or 
so weakened their foundations, that they have long 
since fallen, and the materials of which they were 
composed have been brought down, and spread out by 
the rains over the flanks of the mountain. Natives, 
who have been to the top of Klabat, inform me that 
there is a small lake on the northwest side. Its 
basin is, no doubt, that part of the old crater which 
has not yet been filled so as to make the whole ele- 
vation a perfect cone. If this lake was of any con- 
siderable size, then, as occurred on Mount Papanda- 
yang, in Java, mud and hot water will certainly pour 
down the sides of this mountain, if it is again con- 
vulsed by the mighty forces that are now slumbering 
beneath it. Ayar-madidi is a large ^ampong, or 
oiegri, as the Malays sometimes call their villages. It 
is beautifully situated on the southern flanks of 
Mount Klabat. Its streets all cross each other at 
right angles, and are well shaded. So far as we 
are aware, the Malays and Javanese had no word 
for village previous to the arrival of the Telin- 
gas, and it has been conjectured, from this fact, 
that they were scattered everywhere over their par* ' 
ticular territories exactly as we have seen is the cus- 
tom of the aborigines of Burn, the Alfura, who have 

22 



338 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

"been Ibeyond tlie influence of Lotli Hindus and Arabs, 
and even of tliose natives who liave adopted any- 
foreign religion or custom. Ayar-madidi is a pret- 
tier village than Kema. Indeed, the more I travelled 
in the Minahassa, the more I admired the kampongs, 
they are so incomj)arably superior to those of every 
other part of the archipelago in the regularity of 
their streets and the beautiful hedges with which 
they are lined, and, above all, in the neatness and 
evidence of thrift that everywhere appear. 

The chief native of this village is also the chief 
of the district, which contains several villages. His 
title in the native language is Hiikom Biza, or " Great 
Chief," though he prefers to be addressed by the 
Dutch title of major. The native official next in 
rank is the chief of one of the smaller villages, as at 
Kema. His title is Hukom Kadiia. At smaller 
villages than Kema the chief is called Hukom Tua^ 
or " Old Hukom," and beneath him is the Hiikom 
Kacliil^ or Little Hukom, These officers are nomi- 
nally elected by the natives, but the choice is gener- 
ally confined to the sons of the deceased. 

The Majors and Second Heads receive a per- 
centage on all the coffee raised and delivered to the 
government. This amounts to about twenty thou- 
sand guilders per year for the seventeen districts in 
the whole Minahassa. Besides this income, the Ma- 
jor receives one guilder, and the Second Head half a 
guilder from each family in their respective districts 
and sub-districts, and the Hulcoin Tua five days' 
labor from each able-bodied man yearly. 

The natives themselves are divided by the Dutch 



POPULATION OF THE MINAHASSA. 339 

into burgers or " free citizens," and inlanders or "na- 
tives," wlio are obliged to work a certain number of 
days in tlie coffee-gardens belonging to tlie govern- 
ment. The total population of tlie Minaliassa in 
tbis year (1866), as furnislied me by tbe Resident 
from tbe official documents, is 104,418,* and tbe 
marked degree of variation in tbe population of this 
country, wbere tbe natives bave never been a mari- 
time people, is wortb more than a j)assing notice, 
because it sbows in some degree tbe beneficial effect 
of a stable government, and bow tbe natives are 
sometimes swept away by disease. In 1800, accord- 
ing to Yalentyn, tbe population was 24,000, tbougb 
be gives tbe number of able men at only 3,990. 
In 1825 it was T3,000 ; in 1842, 93,332 ; in 1853, 
99,588. In 1854 a great mortality appeared, and 
tbe population was diminisbed to 92,546, no less 
tban 12,821 persons, or about one-seventb of tbe 
population, baving died in a single year. In tbe 
district of Amurang tbe loss was as bigb as 22^ 
per cent. Tbe principal diseases are fevers and dys- 
entery. Tbe population of tbe Minabassa, as com- 
pared to its area, 14,000 Englisb square miles, is by 
no means large. Tbe island of Madura, wbicb is of 
about tbe same extent, bas more tban five times as 
large a population ; and tbe residency of Surabaya, 
also of about tbe same extent, contains more tban 
ten times as many people. Tbe natives directed me 
to tbe major's residence, wbicb I found to be a small 
but neat and well-painted bouse, built in European 

* This number is divided according to nationalities as follows : Euro- 
peans, 550 ; natives, 102,423 ; Chinese, 1,434 ; Arabs, 11. 



340 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

style. It is situated in the middle of a large, oblong 
lawn, tliat is surrounded witli a row of trees mucli 
like our locust-trees, and wliicli are now in full bloom. 
Near tlie gate are a guard-liouse and long series of sta- 
bles. Dismounting here, I walked up to the broad 
piazza, wkere tke major sat smoking Ms pipe in tke 
Dutck style, and discussing in tke Dutcli language 
tke state of tke weather, the crops, and sucli things 
as interested the Dutchmen of those lands. His 
manners were polished, and he received me in a most 
stately way. His friends were going to Menado, so 
that I should have comj)anions the rest of the way. 
Our dinner was in European style, which seemed the 
more remarkable to me because it diifered so much 
from the way I had been entertained by the rajahs 
of the Moluccas. In our dining-room was a fine 
series of pictures representing scenes in that most 
charming tale, " Paul and Virginia." We were just at 
the foot of Mount Klabat, but we could not see its 
summit on account of thick rain-clouds that covered 
its sides, and now and then rolled down and poured 
out heavy showers over the village. As one of these 
floated away to the east, the sun came out brightly 
and changed the falling drops into a remarkably 
broad and brilliant rainbow, which seemed sus- 
pended from the cloud, and floated along with it in 
a most magical manner. 

Here I saw for the first time the plant from 
which " manilla hemp " is manufactured. It is a 
s]3ecies of banana, Musa textilis, and grows to a 
height of twelve or fifteen feet. It appears to be 
indigenous, and can be raised here from the seed. 



THROWN TROM MY HORSE. 341 

The fibres are taken from tlie large, succulent leaves. 
Tliougli it resembles tlie banana so closely tliat at 
first most people wonld mistake it for tliat plant, 
its fruit is small, disagreeable to the taste, and not 
edible. Several residents kave made strenuous 
efforts to extend its cultivation, but the result lias 
skown tkat tke natives can be more j)i'ofitably em- 
ployed in raising coffee. Tke rain-clouds kaving 
cleared away, we all started for Menado. Tke korse 
tkat kad been kindly furnisked me by an officer was 
not fast nor sure-footed ; and, finally, as we were 
going down a gentle declivity at a quick canter, ke 
fell keadlong. As I am, at least, a muck better 
sailor tkan korseman, I went off over kis kead witk 
a most sui'prising momentum, my feet, unfortunate- 
ly, passing so far into tke stirrups tbat I could not 
extricate eitker of tkem. Tkis so frigktened the korse 
tkat ke reared and plunged fearfully, but I kad no 
idea of being dragged off like Mazeppa, and keld on 
to tke reins until my feet were once more clear, wken, 
witk one leap, I was again in tke saddle, and ready 
for furtker experience in tkis mode of travelling. 
Tkougk I was aware my position was somewkat dan- 
gerous, I could not kelp feeling amused at tke alarm 
manifested by my companions. Tkey all seemed de- • 
ligkted to know tkat I kad escaped witk only suck 
inconvenience as one clad in a summer suit of wkite 
would necessarily experience in coming down in suck 
an unceremonious manner into tke midst of a muddy 
stream. Late in tke evening we came to tke Resi- 
dent's kouse, wkere a cordial welcome awaited me, 
and I kad tke pleasure to find myself once more in 



342 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

the midst of a pleasant family after so long and lone- 
ly an exile. 

The next morning I walked through the village. 
Its total population is only about 2,500, of vs^hich 
300 are Europeans and mestizoes ; about 600 China- 
men, and 1,200 natives, half of whom are Christians 
and the other half Mohammedans. The Resident's 
house is surrounded by large grounds, abounding in 
the choicest of tropical plants. Not far from it is 
the market, a house without walls, the roof resting 
on pillars of wood and masonry. This is the uni- 
versal style of the markets in all parts of the archi- 
pelago. Here various kinds of fruits, gambler, betel- 
nuts, and siri are sold by the natives, and salt, cotton 
fabrics, and cutlery, by Chinese. The salt used here 
is not imported from Java, as that used on the other 
islands I have visited, but is made by the natives 
themselves in the following manner : Littoral-plants 
are gathered and burned. The ashes are then placed 
in a bamboo, which is filled with water. After this 
has remained for some time, the water is strained off 
and evaporated. The residuum is a dark, impure 
salt, but the natives prefer it to any that can be im- 
ported. This custom seems to have been introduced 
lately, for in 1841 the government sold three hun- 
dred and twelve thousand poimds of imported salt, 
but in 1853 only two thousand. From the village 
of Menado I walked northward parallel to the bay, 
and, crossing the little stream Menado, came to the 
village of the Bantiks, a peculiar people, numbering 
about two thousand five hundred, who refuse to be- 
come Mohammedans or Christians, and continue to 



THE BANTIKS. 34.3 

retain the heatlien belief of their forefathers. Many 
of them are taller than the other people I saw in the 
Minahassa. Their houses are not placed on higher 
posts than those of other natives, but they are fi^e- 
quently long, and occupied by several families — a 
custom which appears to have been general through- 
out the archipelago in ancient times, and is still 
practised at Dorey, on the north coast of New 
Gruinea, and again by the people of the Tenger Moun- 
tains in Java, who pride themselves on retaining the 
customs of their ancestors. The view has been ad- 
vanced that the Bantiks are descendants of China- 
men, who established themselves here when they 
first came to the Moluccas to purchase spices. This 
may have been the case, but their features, though 
somewhat different from the other natives, did not 
appear to me to be so unlike them as to necessitate 
such a theory. As they have kept themselves more 
away from the influence of all foreigners than most 
Malays, they give us a good idea of what the abori- 
gines of this region were before the arrival of the 
Portuguese. 

About three miles round the northern side bay, 
we came to Temumpa, where all the lepers of this 
residency are obliged to live, banished forever from 
all communication with other natives, except such of 
their friends as come to see them. The little village 
consists of twelve small houses, regularly arranged 
on either side of a street. They were all neatly 
whitewashed, and each has a small plot of ground, 
where its unfortunate occuj)ants can busy themselves, 
and forget their incurable sufferings and their ban- 



344 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

isliment. A native wlio lives near by lias cliarge of 
tliem, and my opinion was very decided that they 
were well cared for by tlie government. As we 
passed from liouse to house, the officer called them 
out, and I gave each a small piece of silver, for which 
they appeared very grateful. There are now nine- 
teen here afflicted with this loathsome malady. The 
part that appears to be the first attacked is the 
nose, the next is the hands, and the last the feet, 
though in some it only appears in one of these organs. 
In one case the nose had wholly disappeared — even 
the partition between the nostrils — so that I could 
loot directly into the chamber over the mouth. At 
the same time the muscles on one side of the face 
were so contracted that the features presented a most 
sickening sight. In another case, the nose and all 
the upper lip were gone, and even the outer part of 
the upper jaw, so that the front teeth only stuck 
fast on one side, and were com23letely exposed to 
view throughout their entire length. These, how- 
ever, were the older cases, in which the disease had 
made greater progress. Many had lost their fingers 
and toes. One little girl had her ankles and feet so 
swollen that her ankle-bones could not be seen, and 
yet I could not but notice how cheerful she appeared. 
Two men had the disease in their feet, which had 
swollen until they were three times their proper 
size, and all broken o|)en and fissured in the most 
shocking manner. No one who has not seen such 
lepers as these can have any idea of what forms 
human flesh can assume, and life yet remain in the 
body. Suffering from such an incurable, loathsome 



A LIVING DEATH. 345 

malady is literally a living death. I found it 
so sickening, even to look at them, tliat I was 
glad wtien I came to tke last house. Here I was 
shown a young child, a few weeks old. No marks 
of the disease could be detected, unless it might be 
that it was very much lighter colored than either of 
its parents. The father was one of the worst cases I 
saw, but the disease had not ajDpeared in the mother, 
except as a great swelling in the ankles. This child 
must certainly die a leper, and probably will never 
leave the village where it was born. For this reason, 
if for no other, the government certainly acts wisely 
in compelling all who have this disease to come and 
live here together, where, at all events, it cannot be 
widely spread. When it does not aj)|)ear in a very 
malignant form in the parents, it has been known 
to fail to a|)pear in the children, but to appear 
again in the grandchildren. Governor Arriens told 
me of such a case in Java. It was evident that the 
man was a leper, though only a considerable swell- 
ing could be detected on one ear, yet he was able to 
prove that neither of his parents was a leper, but, on 
further inquiry, the governor found that the man's 
grandfather was a leper. This disease is regarded here 
as an endemic, that is, chiefly confined to the Mina- 
hassa and the Moluccas. Much discussion has arisen 
whether leprosy is contagious. The doctor with 
whom I resided while at Burn had been j)reviously 
stationed at Amboina, and while there a soldier who 
was born in Holland was taken, and died with this 
disease. In that case it was evident that the disease 
was not hereditary, and, after the most careful in- 



346 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

quiry, tlie doctor was not able to learn that he had 
ever been near a leper, or tliat lie miglit liave taken 
tlie disease from any one ; for all afflicted witli this 
loathsome malady in Amboina and the neighboring 
islands are banished to Molano, a small island south- 
vrest of Saj^arua. This is the only case that I heard 
of, during my travels among these islands, where a 
foreigner had suffered from this disease. It may be 
remarked that this is not the leprosy spoken of in 
the sacred Scriptures, where the sufferers are described 
as being " white as snow." 

From the shore near Temumpa we had a delight- 
ful view over the bay of Menado. The sea was 
as smooth as glass, and scarcely a ripple broke on 
the sandy beach, which was shaded by graceful, over- 
hanging palms. Before me to the south rose the 
high mountains which form the great buttresses to 
the plateau they enclose, and on my right was the 
sharp volcanic ]3eak called Old Menado because 
foreigners first established themselves on that island, 
and then moved over to Celebes. 

In the evening the Resident showed me the 
large Avooden store-houses where the coffee is received 
from the interior, and kept for exportation. As we 
entered the building, I was surprised at the rich 
aromatic fragrance that filled the air. It differed 
much more from the fragrance given out by the coffee 
seen in our land than any one will readily believe. 
Here it is stored in bags, just as it comes in from the 
plantations. In order that I might see what supe- 
rior coffee the Minahassa produces, the Resident had 
several bags opened. I found the kernels, instead 



HISTORY OF THE COFFEE-TREE. S4c7 

of being opaque, and having, as wlien we usually see 
them, a tinge of bronze, were translucent, and of a 
greenish-blue color. The best are those which have 
these characters, and at the same time are very hard. 
This coffee commands a much higher price than that 
of Java, and is superior to any raised in the archi- 
pelago, unless it may be some that comes from the 
highlands in the interior of Sumatra. 

The coffee crop is subject to some variation, but 
the Eesident informs me that the average yield of the 
government gardens during the last few years has 
been no less than 37,000 piculs (5,000,000 pounds). 
The whole number of trees belonging to the govern- 
ment is 5,949,616, but a large proportion of these are 
young, and therefore bear little or no fruit. Several 
private individuals also own large plantations, that 
yield as well in proportion to the number of trees 
they contain. The trees are found to thrive best 
above an elevation of one thousand feet. 

The native name of this plant and its fruit is hopi, 
a corruption of the name in Dutch, the people who 
introduced it into this archi]3elago. The tree, Coffea 
Ardbica., is a native of Africa, between the tenth and 
fifteenth degrees of north latitude,'^* but it thrives 
anywhere within the tropics on the hundreds of high 
islands in the archi]3elago, as well as in the dry lands 
where it is indigenous. It was as late as 1450, about 
half a century before the discovery of our continent, 
that it was brought over from Abyssinia to the moun- 
tainous parts of Arabia. In this way it happened 
that the Arabians were the people who introduced it 

* Orawfurd's " Dictionary of tlie India Islands." 



348 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

into Europe. In 1690, forty years after, tlie peo- 
ple of Europe had learned to use it as a beverage. 
Governor-General Van Hoorne liad some of tlie seeds 
brought to liim from ports on tlie Arabian Gulf, by tlie 
vessels of tlie Dutcli East India Comj)any, v^lio tlien 
carried on some trade between tliose places and Java. 
Tlie seeds Avere planted in a garden near Batavia, 
v^here tlie plants flourislied well and bore so mucli 
fruit tliat their culture was at once begun, and since 
that time has spread to many parts of the archipelago, 
but the chief islands from which coffee is now export- 
ed are Celebes, Bali, Java, and Sumatra. It is also 
raised to some extent in the Philippines, and these 
and the Malay Islands furnish one-fourth or more 
of all that is used. One of the first plants raised at 
Batavia was sent to Holland, to Nicholas Witsen, the 
head of the East India Company, where it arrived 
safely and bore fruit, and the plants from its seeds 
were sent to Surinam, where they fi.ourished, and in 
1718 coffee began to be an article of export from that 
]3art. Ten years later, in 1728, it was introduced 
fr^om Surinam into the French and English islands 
of the West Indies, having previously been suc- 
cessively introduced into Arabia, Java, and Hol- 
land. I am told that it was first brought here from 
Java by a native prince, and, the remarkable manner 
in which it thrived having attracted the attention of 
the officials, more trees were introduced. In 1822 
only eighty piculs were produced ; in 1834, a remark- 
ably favorable year, 10,000, but in the next year only 
4,000 were obtained. In 1853 the crop was 13,000 
piculs, and in 1854, 23,000. This indicates how re- 



IN THE JAWS OF A CROCODILE. 349 

markaloly this croj) varies in the same locality — ^in 
that year the total number of trees was 4,600,000 — 
and that there has been a steady increase since, 
hoth in the number of trees and in the quantity 
of fruit they have yielded ; but yet not more than 
one-half the number are planted that might be if 
the poj^ulation was sufficiently great to take proj^er 
care of them. With such an enormous yield a large 
surplus is left in the hands of the government after 
it has paid the natives who cultivate it, the percent- 
age to the chiefs, and the cost of transportation from 
the small store-houses in the interior to the large ones 
at Menado, from which it is put on board of vessels 
either directly for foreign ports or to be taken to Ma- 
cassar and thence be reshij)ped to Europe. Though 
the government wishes to give up its monopoly in 
the cultivation of spices in the Bandas and Moluccas, 
I did not hear that it is particularly anxious to do so 
here with the profitable cultivation of coifee. 

From the store-houses we walked to the hospital, 
where I was shown a patient whose case Avas most re- 
markable. He was a native of Kema, and was bath- 
ing in one of the streams that flow through the village, 
when suddenly he found his head between the teeth 
of an enormous crocodile. Fortunately, the great 
reptile did -not close his jaws, nor settle down mth 
his prey as usual, and another native, hearing the 
cries of his friend, caught a large stick, and beat the 
brute until he let go. The man was at once brought 
here to the hospital, and has now nearly recovered. 
On his left jaw-bone there was one continuous inci- 
sion from the ear to the chin, and on the right side 



350 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

of liis face tlie muscles near tlie clieek-Lone and on 
tlie temple were dreadfully lacerated. Tliat a man 
should ever escape alive after Ms head liad once been 
between a crocodile's jaws is certainly tlie next tMng 
to a miracle. I asked him what he thought when 
he found his head in such a vice. " Well," said he, 
coolly, " I thought my time had come, but that I had 
better sing out while I could, and that's what saved 
me, you see." 

December '^%tli. — At 6 a. m. bade the Resident 
good-by, and started for the highlands in the interior 
with an 0])a8 or official servant as a guide and attend- 
ant. It was a lovely morning. The cuckoos were 
pouring out their early songs, and the gurgling of 
the brook by the wayside was almost the only other 
sound that disturbed the stillness of the morning. 
A few cirri were floating high in the sky, and also a 
number of cumuli, whose perpendicular sides reflected 
the bright sunlight like pearly, opaque crystals. 
Along the way we met natives of both sexes carry- 
ing tobacco and vegetables to market, the men hav- 
ing their loads in a sled-shaped frame on their backs, 
and the women carrying theirs in shallow baskets on 
their heads. Our road, which led to the south, was — 
like all in the Minahassa — ^broad and well graded, 
and where it ascended an acclivity coarse fibres fi^om 
the leaves of the gomuti palm were laid across it 
fr'om j)lace to place to cause the water to drain off 
into the ditches by its sides. When the road came 
to a village it always divided, that all the carts may 
go round the village, and not through it. This 
arrangement enables the natives to keep the street 



THE BAY or MENADO. 35I 

througli their village neat and smootli. Sncli streets 
usually consist of a narrow road, bordered on either 
side by a band of green turf, and outside of tliese 
are sidewalks of naked soil like tlie road. Six 
miles out we came to Lotta, a village of about four 
bundred souls, and soon after began to rapidly as- 
cend by a well-built road, tbat zigzags up tbe sides 
of Mount Empung, wbicli forms one of the nortb- 
ern buttres^ses of the plateau situated to the soutb 
and east, l^ine j)aals from Menado, wben we were 
about twelve hundred feet above the sea, I wheeled 
round my horse and enjoyed a magnificent view 
over the bay of Menado and the adjacent shore. 
Out in the bay rose several high islands, among them 
the volcanic peak of Menado Tua, its head raised 
high in the blue sky, and its feet bathed in the blue 
sea. Near the shore the land is very low, and 
abounds in various species of palms. Farther back 
it begins to rise, and soon curves up toward the lofty 
peak of Klabat. 

The beautiful cirri which we had noticed in the 
early morning now began to change into rain-clouds, 
and roll down the mountain, and soon the beautiful 
landscape beneath us was entirely hidden from our 
view. The road here passes through deep cuts that 
show well the various kinds of rocks, which are 
trachytic sand, pumice-stone, and a conglomerate of 
these materials. As we ascended we passed many 
places on the mountain-side where the natives were 
cultivating maize, and from far above us and beneath 
us came the echoing and reechoing songs of the 
natives, who were busy cultivating this exotic but 



362 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

most useful plant. The custom of these people to 
sing wHle working in tlie field is the more notice- 
able, because the Javanese and Malays usually toil 
without thinking of thus lightening their monoto- 
nous labor. Upward and upward we climbed until 
we were about three thousand feet above the sea, 
when we came to two small villages. Beyond, the 
road again became level, and soon we reached To- 
mohon, where I met the controleiir from Tondano, 
a large village to the east, who had come at the 
Resident's request to accompany me for the rest 
of that day's journey. Another horse was brought 
and saddled for me, and we continued on toward the 
south, our party now numbering six or eight, for the 
chiefof each village and one or two servants are 
obliged by law to accompany the controleiir from 
their own village to the next one he comes to, in 
whatever direction he may choose to travel. We 
soon after entered the charming village of Saronsong. 
In the centre of it and on one side of the street is the 
chief's house, and opposite to it but back from the 
street is the ruma negri^ and the space between the 
two is a pretty garden abounding in roses. This 
reminder of home gave me a thrill of pleasure that I 
shall remember as long as I love to look on this, the 
most beautiful of all flowers. As we galloped out 
of this village the thick rain-clouds and fog cleared 
away, and only cumuli and cirri were again to be 
seen in the sky. I now had a magnificent view, on 
the left, of the high range along the west side of lake 
Tondano, toward the northwest of the sharp vol- 
canic cone of Lohon, about five thousand feet in 



LAKE LINU. 353 

height, west of tliat of Empung, attaining nearly tliat 
height, and in the northeast Grunong Api with its 
three peaks. Somewhat farther on we rode down 
into a little valley, where the road ran along the side 
of a small lake, whose mnddy water was of a dirty- 
white color, and from which strong, almost strang- 
ling, fumes of sulphur were rising — a most unearthly 
place, and one that would remind the traveller of 
Bunyan's picture of " the Valley of the Shadow of 
Death," where the way was narrow, and on either 
hand " ever and anon came up flame and smoke in 
great abundance with sparks and hideous noises." 
In one place a flock of ducks was swimming in this 
sulphurous pool, and on its margin I noticed a few 
waders running to and fro seeking food. Its banks 
were mostly covered with ferns, the leaves of which 
were of a bright red, reminding one of the brilliantly- 
colored leaves of our maples in autumn. 

Near the next village, Lahendong, we made a 
short excursion to the left, up a high but not a 
steep hill, to see the remarkable lake Linu. The 
hill is the top of an old volcano, and soon, as we de- 
scended and turned a sharp point, we found before 
us the lake now filling the bottom of the crater. On 
our way down to a house near its edge, we passed 
a place where much sulphurous gas was escaping. It 
looked indeed much like 'the top of a great half- 
slaked lime-kiln. The lake is about half a mile in 
diameter, and has an outlet on the southwest, through 
a former split in the old crater- wall. In most parts 
the water has a blue color, but in some it has a 
whitish tinge from gases that rise up through the 

23 



354 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

bottom of its basin. On tlie northeast end tliere is 
a large solfatara, like tlie one we passed in coming 
down to tbe lake, but larger. Here it was that the , 
Italian count, Carlo de Vidua, who had travelled over 
a large j)art of the globe, met with a misfortune that 
caused his untimely death. He ventured too far on 
the soft, hot clay, and sank in, and before the natives, 
who had cautioned him against going there could 
take him out, he was burned so badly that he died 
in a short time afterward at Amboina, whither he 
was taken, that he might be cared for in the best 
possible manner. He had travelled over a consid- 
erable portion of our own continent, and, after 
escaping many imminent dangers, ventured in this 
3|)ot too far. Such is the history of many a daring 
traveller, and no one who comes out here, where on 
the sea there are pirates, and on the land earth- 
|uakes and savage beasts, and in some places still 
more savage men, can know at what moment he is 
planning a fatal voyage, or when he is taking the step 
that may be his last. Yet some one must take this 
risk if the limited boundaries of our knowledge of 
these remote lands are ever to be extended. 

Although the water of this lake is largely im- 
pregnated with sulphur and other substances that 
rise up through its bottom, yet Dr. Bleeker found 
two kinds of fish here, OpJiiocepJialus striatus, Bl., 
and A.rrabas scandens^ Cuv., and an eel, Anguilla 
Elpliinstonei, Syk., which are also found in the fresh 
waters of Java and Sumatra, and in India. Return- 
ing to the main road, we continued on to Sonder, and, 
passing through a part of the village, came to the 



THE GROVE BY MOONLIGHT. 355 

ruma negr% a public-liouse for any officer wlio cliances 
to come to tliat place. TMs liouse is said to be 
far better even tlian any of tlie same kind in Java. 
It stands at tlie end of a long, beautifuUy-sliaded 
avenue. The road is bordered witL. a narrow band 
of grass, neatly clipped, and tbe sidewalks are of a 
wMte earth, wkicli lias been brought from some dis- 
tance. A fine grove surrounds the house, and here 
are many casuarina or cassowary-trees, the long, 
needle -like leaves of which closely resemble the 
downy plumage of that strange bird. This evening, 
as the full moon shines throu2;h the foliao-e, the 
whole grove is transformed into an enchanted place. 



CHAPTER XL 



THE MIlSrAHASSA. 



December ^^th. — Early tliis morning rode about 
two miles from Sonder in a northwest direction, 
down over tlie edge of the plateau on wMcL. that 
village is situated. The road was nothing but a 
narrow path, and led along a deep ravine, whose 
sides in several places were high precipices. A short 
distance beyond the native village of Tinchep is the 
beautiful waterfall Munte, nine hundred and sixty- 
four feet above the sea, but six hundred and fifty 
below Sonder. The height of the fall is about sixty 
feet, and the width of the stream at this time is 
nearly twenty. The rock over which it pours is 
a perpendicular wall of trachytic lava. The place 
from which travellers view the fall is some tAvo 
hundred feet above it, where the road runs along the 
side of a mountain-chain, that curves in the form of 
a horseshoe around it, and makes a magnificent 
background for this charming picture. Luxuriant 
foliage hangs over the stream above the cataract, and 
vines and small trees have found a foothold in the 
crevices and on the projecting ledges of the steep 
wall beneath ; and as the showers of falling drops 
strike the ends of their branches, they continually 



SUDDEN DISAPPEARANCE OF GARDENS. 357 

wave to and fro, tliougli wliere the beholder stands, 
not tlie slightest breeze is moving in the air. We 
had come at just the right time to see it when it 
is most charming, for the early sun was then shoot- 
ing oblique bands of bright light across the falling 
water, and as the stream is divided into millions of 
drops the moment it curves over the edge of the 
cliff, those pearly spheres were now lighted up and 
now darkened, as repeatedly they shot out of the 
shaded parts into the bands of golden light. 

Returning to Sonder, I proceeded along the main 
route in the southeast direction to Sonder Tua, " Old 
Sonder," and Kawangtoan, and thence to the lovely 
negri of Tompasso. During this distance, of about 
eight miles, we had slowly ascended until we were 
about five hundred and seventy-five feet above Son- 
der. The view here is open on all sides. In the 
southwest is Mount Tompasso, which attains an ele- 
vation of over thirty-eight hundred feet. In the 
southeast the high, steep mountains are seen that 
border this elevated plain on the south. Great land- 
slides appear on their sides ; and the people at Tom- 
passo said that, not long before, three natives, who 
had cleared and planted large gardens on the steep 
declivities, went one morning to continue their labor, 
as usual, when to their great surprise their gardens 
had disappeared, and all that was left of them was a 
huge heap of sandstones and fragments of trees 
piled up on the edge of the plain. 

This village is laid out with a large, square pond 
in the middle, and on a broad dike which crosses it 
is the highway. A well-graded street borders this 



358 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

pond, and tlie liouses on its four sides are all placed 
facing its centre. The hedges that border the house- 
lots are mostly composed of rose-bushes, and the 
pond itself is nearly filled with the richly-colored 
and fragrant lotus, NympJima lotus^ a large water- 
lily, held sacred in Egypt and India as the symbol 
of creation. It is the beautiful flower upon which 
Buddha is represented as sitting in each of the 
great images, where he is supposed to personify the 
Past, the Present, and the Future, three immense 
statues, to be seen in any of the thousand temples in 
the East dedicated to that heathen god. The " lotus " 
or " lotos " of northern Africa, the fruit of which was 
supposed to possess the wonderful power of mailing 
all who tasted it forget their "homes and friends 
and native shores," is a tree, the Celtis Australis. If 
the ancients, Avho delighted so much in fables and 
myths, had only known of this charming place, 
they would have located their lotus-land here in the 
distant East, where the air is so pure and balmy, and 
the scenery so enchanting. 

About a mile and a half beyond Tompasso we 
came to a number of " mud- wells," and I began to 
examine them ; but, as a heavy shower was now seen 
coming up, my attendant and I again leaped into our 
saddles and dashed off at a fast canter to Langowan, 
where the chief very politely insisted on my remain- 
ing with him instead of going to the next village — 
an invitation I was happy to accept, for I was deter- 
mined not to leave this wonderful region until I had 
visited all the hot-springs in the vicinity, especially 
as the missionary here offered to go with me on the 



A MUD-WELL. 359 

morrow, so that I should not fail to see those that 
were most interesting. 

Deceonher oOtJi. — Early this morning, in company 
with the missionary, the liukom tua, and a number 
of natives rode back nearly to Tompasso to reexam- 
ine the mud- wells seen yesterday. The area in which 
most of them are found is about half a mile square, 
on the side of a gentle declivity. Some time before 
we came to them, we could tell where they were by 
the quantities of steam and gas rising from them, 
and, as we came nearer, we could hear the heavy 
bubbling of the principal one. It is of a triangular 
form, and measures about thirty feet on a side, one 
of the angles lying toward the top of the hill. The 
mud is generally of a lead color, and varies in con- 
sistency from the centre, where it is nearly as thin as 
muddy water, to the edges, where in some places it 
is as thick as cream, and in others like putty. It 
boils up like pitch — that is, rises up in small masses, 
which take a spherical form, and then burst. The 
distance between the centres of these ebullitions va- 
ries from six inches to two feet or more, so that the 
whole surface is covered with as many sets of con- 
centric rings as there are se23arate boiling points. 
Near each of the centres the rings have a circular 
form ; but, as they are pressed outward by the suc- 
cessive bubbling up of the material within them, 
they are pressed against each other, and become 
more or less irregular, the corners always remaining 
round until they are pressed out against those which 
originated from another point. By that time the 
rings have expanded from small circles into irregular 



360 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

polygons. They, therefore, exactly represent tlie 
lines of concretionary structure frequently seen in 
scMsts, and represented in nearly every treatise on 
geology/"* If this bubbling action should cease, 
and in the course of time the clay become changed 
by heat and pressure into slates, the similarity of the 
two would perhaps be very close. Have, therefore, 
the particles now forming the old schists which 
show this structure been subjected to such mechani- 
cal changing in their relative position to each other, 
before they were hardened into the schists they now 
form, as the particles of clay in this pool are un- 
dergoing at the present time ? 

Near this large well was a hot-spring about three 
feet in diameter, and two feet deep. Its temperature 
was as high as 98° Celsius, 208.4° Fahrenheit, and 
of course much steam rose from its surface. We 
boiled some eggs here hard in a few minutes. The 
water was pure and the natives living in the vicinity 
frequently come and wash their clothing in this nat- 
ural boiler. No trace of vegetation could be de- 
tected beneath the surface nor on its edges where the 
bubbling water splashed. At the foot of the hill we 
visited a considerable lake which was strongly im- 
pregnated with sulphur, and near it a pond of thick, 
muddy water which in several places boiled up at 
intervals. About twenty of these boiling pools are 
found on this hill-side, and in the low, marshy land 
at its feet. Up the hill above the mud-well first 
described was a naked spot several yards in diameter. 

* For an accurate representation of tliese rings, see the drawings of 
concretionary structure in Dana's " Manual of Geology, " p. 99, fig. 85. 



A BOILING POOL. ^Q^ 

It is composed of tana puti, wliite earth ; that is, de- 
composed lavas. Considerable steam was escaping 
from two or tliree lioles wliere tlie natives had been 
taking out this white earth or clay, which they mix 
with rice-water and use in whitewashing their houses, 
a common practice throughout the Minahassa. We 
now rode west to Tompasso, and turning to the north 
came to a small village called Nolok. Thence the 
natives guided us a short distance in a northeasterly 
direction to a brook, and following up this for some 
distance, we came to a large bowl-shaped basin about 
seventy-five feet in diameter and twenty feet deep. 
Its sides were of soft clay, and so steep that we had 
much difiiculty in getting near enough to its edge to 
obtain such a view as I desired, and the only way we 
accomplished it was by selecting a place where the 
intertwining roots of many small trees made a kind 
of turf. The coolies cleared away the shrubbery with 
their cleavers, and then by taking the left hand of one 
native while he held fast to another with his right, I 
was enabled to lean over its soft edo-e and obtain a 
complete view of the boiling water which partly 
covered its miry bottom. The stream which flows 
down into this basin rises on higher land to the 
north, and is cool until it comes into this basin. 
Here it is heated and strongly impregnated with 
sulphur, and changed to a whitish color. This circu- 
lar basin I suppose has been wholly formed by the 
motion of the water that boils with the heat beneath 
it. One object in visiting these hot springs was to 
ascertain at what degree of. temj)erature vegetation 
first began to appear. We therefore went down the 



362 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

stream, and began following its course upward tow- 
ard this basin. At a place wliere tlie temperature 
was 48° Celsius, 118.4° Fahrenlieit, tlie rocks and 
sticks in tke water were tkickly covered with dark- 
green alga3. A little liigker up tke temperature was 
51° Celsius, 123.8° Fakrenkeit, and algge were still 
present, tkougk tke fumes of sulpkur tkat rose ckoked 
me as I stooped to examine tke temperature. We 
kad now come to a tkick jungle wkere tke ground 
was so soft and miry it was botk difficult and danger- 
ous to get nearer tke boiling pool. At last one of 
tke natives was induced by tke promise of a large 
piece of silver to cut away tke bamboos and small 
skrubbery, if I would keep close bekind kim. Tkus 
we slowly worked our way several yards kigker 
up, wken I ordered kim to turn toward tke stream. 
Tkis kot-bog was certainly tke next place to Tartarus. 
In several places between tke clumps of small trees 
and bamboos tke water was boiling and bubbling 
furiously, and pouring out great volumes of stifling 
gases, but I followed my coolie so closely tkat ke kad 
no time to regret kis agreement, and at last we 
reacked tke bank of tke stream, a place was cleared, 
and fastening my tkermometer to tke end of a long 
bamboo, I placed it in tke kot, opaque water. Tkree 
times I repeated tke observation, and eack time tke 
mercury stood at 50° Celsius, 122° Fakrenkeit, but I 
judged from tke rate it fell after tke first reading 
tkat it stood at 52°, certainly not kigker, before it 
was raised into tke air. In tkis spot we kad unfortu- 
nately come among kundreds of ants, tkat came out 
and bit me until my ankles seemed to be surrounded 



THE TEMPERATURE OP THE POOLS. 363 

witli live coals, and at tlie end of tlie tliird reading 
I droj)ped tlie bamboo and ran back witli all my 
miglit to excape tliese pests and end my misery. 
While I held the thermometer in the bubbling (not 
boiling) water, I ordered the coolie to raise the sticks 
that were floating in it, but conld not discern the 
slightest appearance of any vegetable growth,, though 
it was very noticeable a little farther down the stream 
where the temperature of the water was not more than 
one degree lower, but where the quantity of sulphur 
in the water must have been much less, judging by the 
proportionate strength of the fames that rise in the 
two places. All the other readings given here were 
made while the mercury remained in the water, and 
as the thermometer had been carefully marked the 
observations are liable to but little error. If some 
other observer should go to the same places and find 
a greater or less quantity of water, no doubt the tem- 
perature also would be found to have slightly changed. 
The missionary in our party, who had visited this 
place several times, assured me that frequently, when 
the cold stream that flows into this basin is much 
swollen by heavy rains, the water is thrown \\p at 
short intervals as high as a common palm-tree, about 
fifty feet. The natives also told me they had all often 
seen it in such violent action. The basin is therefore 
nothing but the upper, expanding j)art of a deej) 
geyser-like tube. 

We now returned toward Langowan, and visited 
a large basin of hot water to the left of the road, and 
about a mile from that village. Its basin is bowl- 
shaped, nearly circular in form, forty-eight feet in 



364: TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

diameter. Tlie water does not boil up except in one 
. or two places, and almost tlie only gas tliat escapes is 
steam. Its temperature is 78° Celsius, 172.4° Faliren- 
lieit. On one side is a small brook wMcli carries off 
tlie surplus water, for tMs is truly a spring, tliat is, 
a place where water flows up from tlie ground. A 
short distance to the west and north are a number 
of hills, from which this water no doubt comes. As 
stifling gases were not pouring out, I had a better 
opportunity for examining the banks of the brook, 
which flowed off sixty feet, and was then conducted 
across the road by a causeway. Tracing it with the 
current several times, I invariably came to the fljst 
indication of vegetable life in the same place. It 
was a small quantity of algae on the bottom of the 
brook, each plant being about as large round as a 
pin, and an eighth of an inch in length, and re- 
sembling the VaucJieria, or brook silk, the green 
threads of which are seen in the fresh-water ponds 
by our roadsides in summer. Here the temperature 
was 76f ° Celsius, 170.15° Fahrenheit. As the water 
flowed out through this shallow brook, a large part 
of all the sulphurous gas it contained of course 
passed off, and I believe the vegetation began at that 
point, not so much' because the water was 1:^° Celsius 
cooler than in the basin, as because it was much 
purer, for at a short distance nearer the basin, where 
the temperature was 77|-° Celsius, 172.82° Fahren- 
heit, no kind of vegetation could be detected, and 
yet the difference in the temperature of the wa,ter in 
the two places was only three-eighths of a degree in 
Celsius's scale.. 



THE ANCIENT APPEARANCE OF OUR EARTH. 365 

Geologists suppose tliat our earth was once a 
molten, liquid mass, wMcli cooled by degrees until a 
crust was formed, tliat slowly tliickened until con- 
densation began in tlie surrounding atmosphere, and 
thus the water of the primeval ocean was formed. 
At first this water must have been just below the 
boiling point, and the query has arisen. How cool did 
the sea become before vegetation began to appear in 
it, and on the land then above the sea ? The partial 
answer indicated by the few observations above is, 
that the presence of vegetable life depended more on 
the chemical composition of the water than on its 
temperature. If it was as pure then as the larger 
pool described above, the whole ocean was yet one 
great steaming caldron when these very simple 
aquatic plants, each apparently consisting of only 
a single branching cell, began to grow in the shallow 
places along its shores. Before this time, however, 
other algae, like those which now grow in moist ter- 
restrial places, may have been thriving on the land 
in the steamy atmosphere, 

Sunday^ December ^Ist. — At 8 a. m. attended the 
native church, where the missionary preaches. It 
was well filled, and the attention manifested by all 
was highly commendable. At the close of the ser- 
vice four or five couples were married ; the pastor, 
after performing the ceremony, explaining to the 
husbands that they must support their wives, and 
not, like the Alfura, who are heathens, live in idle- 
ness, and expect their wives to support them. A 
controleur, who had been stationed in the interior, 
back of Gorontalo, now arrived at Langowan, on his 



366 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

way to Kema, liaving been transferred, at Ms re- 
quest, to Sumatra. We sIlouIcI therefore Ibe com- 
panions on tlie steamer all the way to Java, whicli 
was especially agreeable to me, as lie spoke Eng- 
lisli well, and no one not born in Holland can ever 
learn to ^^ronounce the harsh gutturals of the Dutch 
language mth perfect ease and accuracy. From Lan- 
gowan we rode four miles in a northerly direction to 
Kakas, a village at the southern end of the lake of 
Tondano. The ruma negri here is one of the most 
pleasantly-situated buildings in the Minahassa. It is 
large and carefully built, and has broad verandas 
both toward the lake and the village. It is sur- 
rounded with plots of green grass, neatly bordered 
with gravelled walks, and rose-bushes covered with 
large crimson flowers. In the evening, when the moon 
rose over the sharp peaks a short distance to the 
east, and spread a broad band of silver light over the 
lake, the effect was charming; and now, while we 
inhale the balmy air, and recall to mind the ponds of 
beautiful lotus we have been passing, we may feel 
that we are indeed in the enchanted lotus-land that 
Tennyson thus pictures : 

In the afternoon they came unto a land 

In which it seemed always afternoon ; 

At noon the coast with languid air did swoon, 

Breathing like one that hath a weary dream. 

Full-faced above the valley stood the moon ; 

And like a downward smoke the slender stream 

Along the cliif to fall, and pause, and fall, did seem. 

January 1, 1866. — Walked with the controleur 
and chief through the village, and saw the mode of 



THE LAKE OF TONDANO. Sg^ 

ponnding out rice by water-power. Tlie axle of tlie 
water-wheel is made very long, and filled witli a 
number of small sticks, which, as they turn over, 
raise poles fixed in a perpendicular position, that fall 
again when the revolving stick is drawn away from 
them. A large boat, manned by seven natives, was 
made ready for me to go to any part of the lake 
of Tondano and ascertain its depth. It occupies the 
lower portion of a high plateau, and its surface, as 
measured by S. H. De Lange, is two thousand two 
hundred and seventy-two English feet above the sea. 
It is about seventeen miles long in a northerly and 
southerly direction, and varies in width from two to 
seven miles. It is nearly divided into two equal 
j^arts by high capes that project from either shore. 
On the south and southwest and on the north, its 
shores are low, and the land slowly ascends from one 
to five miles, and then curves upward to the jagged 
mountain-crest that bounds the horizon on all sides. 
In the other parts of its shores it rises up from the 
water in steep acclivities. All the lowlands and the 
lower flanks of the mountains are under a high state 
of cultivation, and the air is cool and pure, while it 
is excessively hot and sultry on the ocean-shore below. 
Some writers have regarded this lake-basin as an old 
extinct crater ; and some, as only a depression in 
the surrounding plain, or, in other words, the lower 
part of the plateau. To settle this question beyond 
a doubt, it was necessary to ascertain its form. I 
therefore asked the Resident if he could furnish me 
with a line to sound with as I crossed it. He re- 
plied that he had but one of two himdred fathoms. 



368 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

and that I could not expect to reach, the bottom with 
that, for all the fishermen who live on its shores de- 
clare that it " has no bottom," that is, is unfathoma- 
ble. It would be something to know that it was 
more than twelve hundred feet deep — so a coolie 
was ordered to carry the line. From Kakas we 
rowed over a short distance toward the high shore 
opposite, that being said to be one of the unmeasur- 
able places. A heavy sinker was put on, and the 
whole line cleared, so that it would run out freely 
to the last foot. I gave the man at the bow the 
command, and the cord began to rattle over the 
boat's side, when suddenly it sto23ped short. " Is the 
sinker off ? " " No, it's on the bottom." " How 
many fathoms are out." " Eleven fathoms and five 
feet." After this we sounded eight times, and the 
deepest water, which was near the middle, between 
the two high caj)es, is only twelve fathoms and two 
feet. The water not only proved shallow, but the 
bottom was found to be as even as the lowland at 
the northern and southern ends of the lake. The 
basin is therefore only a slight depression in the 
lower part of the plateau. The only fishes known 
in this lake are the same three species already men- 
tioned as existing in the sulphurous waters of Lake 
Linu. Reaching the large village of Tondano, at the 
northern end of the lake, I was kindly received by 
the Gontroleur^ who had accomj)anied me already 
from Tomohon to Bonder. A heavy rain set in, and 
I was obliged to defer the rest of my journey till the 
next day. , 

January 2d. — The thick rain-clouds of yesterday 



ONE OF THE FINEST VIEWS IN THE WORLD. 359 

broke away this morning as the sun rose, and the 
sky is now perfectly clear. The contrqleur provided 
me with a horse, and a hulcom tua accompanied me 
as a guide. Our course w^as nearly west, and soon 
the road became very steep, and extremely slippery 
from the late rain. As we rose, the view over the 
plateau beneath us widened, until we wound round 
the mountain to the little village of Kurukan, the 
highest Qiegri in this land. The head of this village 
guided us to the to|) of a neighboring peak, where I 
found a large part of the Minahassa spread out be- 
fore me like a great maj). From the point where I 
stood, there stretched to the south a high mountain- 
chain, forming the western border of the lake of 
Tondano. A little more to the east were seen the 
lake far below, and the level land along a part of its 
shores, while on the opj)osite side of the lake rose 
the mountains that form the other end of the chain 
on which I was standing. This chain curves like a 
horseshoe, the open part being turned toward the 
north. At the same point where all the details of 
this plateau were comprised in a single view, by 
turning a little toward the north, I could look down 
the outer flanks of this elevated region away to the 
low, distant ocean -shore, where the blue sea was 
breaking into white, sparkling surf. A little farther 
toward the north rose the lofty peak of Mount 
Klabat, covered with a thick mantle of fleecy clouds, 
which had a hue of ermine in the bright light. This 
mantle was slowly raised and lowered by the invisi- 
ble hand of the strong west wind. Beneath it, low 
on the sides of the mountain, was seen a line of trees 

24 



370 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

marking tlie shady way I had taken from Kema to Me- 
nado. This is considered, and I "believe rightly, the 
finest view in the archipelago, and one of the most 
charming in the world, because the other famous 
views, like that of Damascus, do not include that 
great emhleni of infinity, the open ocean. 

Rice is raised at even as great an elevation as the 
place we had reached, about four thousand five hun- 
dred feet, in what are called Icebon hring^ " dry gar- 
dens." These are known as tegal lands in Java. The 
yield is said not to be as large as on the low lands, 
sawas, by the margin of the lake which are over- 
flowed il^the usual manner. The yearly crop in the 
Minahassa is from one hundred and fifty to two hun- 
dred thousand piculs, of which ten to eighteen thou- 
sand are exported chiefly to Ternate and Amboina, 
Tobacco is also cultivated, but only for home con- 
sumption. Cocoa is also raised ; and this year (1865) 
forty-four and three-fourth piculs were exported. 
Like that at Amboina, it is all bought by Chinamen, 
who send it to Manilla. Cocoa-nuts are also ex- 
ported to the chief islands eastward. The yield this 
year is estimated by the officials at four million. 
There is a great abundance here of the gomuti or 
sagaru palm-tree, the large |)etioles of which spread 
out at the base into broad fibrous sheets that enclose 
the trunk. Some of the fibres resemble horsehair, but 
are much stiffer and very brittle, and are gathered by 
the natives and manufactured into coir, a kind of 
coarse rope. As the fibres soon break, they project 
in every direction until the rope becomes extremely 
rough and difficult to handle. It has the valuable 




THE GOMUTI PALM. 



p. 370. 



From a sketch by Rahdeu Saleh. 



PALM WINE. 371 

property, liowever, of being nearly indestructible in 
water, and the Resident tells me tliat this coir will 
probably prove of much value in manufacturing tele- 
graph-cable. The quantity of fibres that could be 
gathered yearly would be very considerable if there 
should be any demand for them. Among the flexi- 
ble, horsehair-like fibres are coarser ones, which the 
natives use for pens and arrows for their blowpi|)es, 
and interwoven with them is a mass of small fibres 
nearly as soft as cotton, which are used as tinder. 
The flowering part is cut off with a knife, and the 
sap which exudes is gathered in a piece of bamboo. 
In this condition it has a slightly acid and very 
bitter taste, resembles . the thin part of buttermilk, 
and is a very agreeable and refreshing beverage in 
such a hot climate. As soon as it is allowed to fer- 
ment it becomes tiia\ a highly-intoxicating drink, of 
which the natives are very fond This palm prefers 
higher lands than the cocoa-nut, which flourishes well 
only on the low areas near the level of the sea. It 
will be readily distinguished from all the other palms 
of this land by its large leaves and the rough ap- 
pearance of its trunk. Gomuti is the Malay name 
for the coir only, the tree itself they call anau. In 
Amboina the native name for it is nawa^ and in other 
parts of the archipelago it has local names, showing 
that it is probably an indigenous plant. The soft 
envelopes of the seeds, which are so numerous that, 
when ripe, one bunch will frequently be a load for 
two men, contain a poisonous juice which the natives 
were accustomed to use on their arrows, and which 
the Dutch have named " hell- water." 



372 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

Besides the fruits already mentioned, tliere are 
durians, mangostins, j ambus or rose-apples, lansinms, 
pompelmuses, limes, bread-ft^uits, bananas, pine-ap- 
ples, and oranges. The latter are particularly nice, 
and in one of the kinds the leathery rind is not yel- 
low when the fr^uit, which is merely a berry, is ripe, 
but still remains as green as when only half-grown. 
It is the custom here at the table to peel this fruit 
with a knife, exactly as we peel an apple. 

From Tondano to Kema the road is built in a 
deep, zigzag ravine, and commences to descend a mile 
north of the lake. Through the ravine flows a 
stream which is the outlet of the lake. On the 
northern side of the plateau where the road begins 
to descend, this stream is changed into a waterfall, 
which is known as the waterfall of Tondano. It 
consists of three falls, but, when seen from the usual 
point, a short distance north of the lower fall, the 
upper and middle ones form a boiling rapid, and only 
the lowest one presents a grand appearance. Where 
the first and second occur the water shoots down 
through a deep canal, which has been apparently 
formed in the rock by the strong current. Having 
rolled in a foaming mass through this deep canal, the 
water takes a flying leap down seventy feet into a 
deep, circular pool, the outer edges of this falling 
stream breaking up into myriads of sparkling drops, 
which fall in showers into the dark pool, where they 
disappear forever. 

Here a strange tragedy occurred in the year 1855, 
when the governor-general from Java was journeying 
through this land. One of the highest officers on 



GRAVES OF THE NATIVES. 373 

Ms staff, a gentleman wlio liad previously been gov- 
ernor of tlie Moluccas, came to this place wliile tlie 
others were resting at Tondano, and committed sui- 
cide by plunging headlong into the deep canal above 
the high fall. Only a short time before, he had dined 
v^ith the whole company and seemed very cheerful, 
but here, probably in a moment of unusual despon- 
dency, he made the fatal leap. 

Continuing in the way that followed this crooked 
stream, I occasionally beheld the high top of Mount 
Klabat before me. Several large butterflies flitted 
to and fro, their rich, velvety blue and green colors 
seeming almost too bright to be real. At the eighth 
paal we came to the native village Sawangan, and the 
chief showed me the burial-place of his people pre- 
vious to the arrival of Europeans. Most of the 
monuments consist of three separate stones placed 
one on another. The lowest is square or oblong, and 
partly buried in the earth. Its upper surface has 
been squared off that the second might rest on it 
more firmly. This is a rectangular-parallelopipedon, 
one or two feet wide and two-thirds as thick, and 
from two to three feet high. It is placed on end on 
the first stone. In its upper end a deej^ hole has 
been made, and in this the body of the deceased is 
placed. It was covered by the third stone of a tri- 
angular form when viewed at the end, and made to 
represent that part of a house above the eaves. It 
projects a little beyond the perpendicular stone be- 
neath it. On the sides of the roof rude figures of 
men, women, and children were carved, all with the 
knees drawn up against the chin and clasped by the 



3Y4 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

arms, tlie hands being locked togetlier in front below 
tlie knees. In many of these the faces of the figures 
¥/ere flat, and holes and lines were cut representing 
the eyes, nose, and mouth ; in others rude busts were 
placed on the eaves. This burial-place contains the 
finest monuments of olden times now existing in the 
Minahassa. Others can be seen at Tomohon, and 
especially at Kakas, but they are not as highly orna- 
mented as these. At Kakas they are mostly com- 
posed of but two stones, one long one set uj)right in 
the ground, and another placed over this as a cover 
to the hole containing the body. At each of these 
places they are entirely neglected, and many of the 
images here have already fallen or been broken off. 
Noticing that a very good one was loose and ready 
to fall, I remarked to the chief that, if I did not take 
it, it would certainly soon be lost, and, before he had 
time to give his assent, I had it under my arm. The 
missionary at Langowan informed me that originally 
these graves were beset with such obscene ornaments 
that one of the Residents felt it his duty to order 
that they should all be broken off. This fact, and 
the rude form of the images, led me to think that 
they ought to be classed with the remarkable temple 
found near Dorey, on the north coast of New Guinea, 
and with the nude statues used by the Battas to or- 
nament the graves of their deceased friends. 

When the Portuguese first arrived in the Moluc- 
cas, this region was tributary to the prince of Ter- 
nate. All the natives were heathen then, and many 
of them yet retain the superstitious belief of their 
ancestors. Mohammedanism had not gained a foot- 



CHRISTIANITY AND EDUCATION. 375 

hold among them, nor lias it since, and the only Mo- 
hammedans now in the land are the immigrants at 
Menado, who have come from other parts of the 
archipelago, and a few natives banished from Java. 
Even as late as 1833, but little more than thirty 
years ago, Pietermaat, who was then Eesident, in his 
official report, says of these people: "They are 
wholly ignorant of reading, writing, and arithmetic. 
They reckon by means of notches in a piece of bam- 
boo, or by knots made in a cord." Formerly they 
were guilty of practising the bloody custom of cut- 
ting off human heads at every great celebration, and 
the missionary at Langowan showed me a rude draw- 
ing of one of their principal feasts, made for him by 
one of the natives themselves. In front of a house 
where the chief was supposed to reside, was a short, 
circular paling of bamboos placed upright, the u|)per 
ends of all were sharpened, and on each was stuck a 
human head. Between thirty and forty of these 
heads were represented as having been taken off for 
this single festive occasion, and the missionary re- 
garded the drawing as no exaggeration, from what 
he knew of their bloody rites. 

The remarkable quantities of coffee, cocoa-nuts, 
and other articles yearly exported from the Mina- 
hassa show that a wonderful change has come over 
this land, even since 1833 ; and the question at once 
arises. What is it that has transferred these people 
from barbarism to civilization ? The answer and the 
only answer is, Christianity and education. The 
Bible, in the hands of the missionaries, has been the 
chief cause that has induced these people to lay aside 



3Y6 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

tlieir bloody rites. As soon as a few natives liad 
been taugM to read and write, they were employed 
as teacliers, and schools were established from place 
to place, and from these centres a spirit of industry 
and self-respect has diffused itself among the people 
and supplanted in a great measure their previous 
predisposition to idleness and self-neglect. In 1840, 
seven years after Pietermaat gave the description 
of these people mentioned above, the number of 
Christians compared to that of heathen was as one 
to sixteen, now it is about as two to five; and 
exactly as this ratio continues to increase, in the 
same degree will the prosperity of this land be- 
come greater. 

The rocks seen on this journey through the 
Minahassa, as noted above, are trachytic lavas, vol- 
canic sand and ashes, pumice-stone, and conglome- 
rates composed of these materials and clay formed 
by their decomposition. They all appear to be of 
a late formation, and, as Dr. Bleeker remarks, the 
Minahassa seems to be only a recent prolongation 
of the older sedimentary rocks in the residency of 
Gorontalo. In this small part of the peninsula, 
there are no less than eleven volcanoes. North of 
Menado is a chain of volcanic islands, which form a 
prolongation of this peninsula. On the island Siao 
there is an active volcano. North of it is the large 
island of Sangir. According to Yalentyn, the high- 
est mountain on the island underwent an eruption 
in December, 1711. A great quantity of ashes and 
lava was ejected, and the air was so heated for some 
distance around, that many of the natives lost their 



TANJONG FLASCO. 3Y7 

lives. Nortli of tlie Sangir islands are tlie Talaut 
group. These are the most northern islands under 
the Dutch, and the boundary of their possessions in 
this part of the archipelago. 

The steamer Menado, on which I had previously 
taken passage from Batavia all the way to Amhoina, 
now arrived at Kema. She had brought my collec- 
tion from Amboina, Burn, and Ternate, and I was 
ready to return to Java, for some months had passed 
since I accomplished the object of my journey to the 
Spice Islands, and during that time I had travelled 
many hundred miles and had reached several regions 
which I had not dared to exj)ect to see, even when I 
left Batavia. A whale-ship from New Bedford was 
also in the road, and when I visited her and heard 
every one, even the cabin-boy, speaking English, it 
seemed almost as strange as it did to hear nothing 
but Malay and Dutch when I first arrived in Java. 
Many whales are usually found east of the Sangir 
Islands, and north of Gilolo and New Guinea. 

January 10th. — At noon steamed out of the bay 
of Kema and down the eastern coast of Celebes for 
Macassar. When the sun was setting, we were just 
off Tanjong Fiasco, which forms the northern limit 
of the bay of Gorontalo or Tomini. As the sun 
sank behind the end of this high promontory, its 
jagged outline received a broad margin of gold. 
Bands of strati stretched across the sky from north 
to south and successively changed from gold to a 
bright crimson, and then to a deep, dark red as the 
sunlight faded. All this bright coloring of the sky 
was repeated in the sea, and the air between them 



3Y8 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

assumed a rich, scintillating appearance, as if filled 
witli millions of minute crystals of gold. 

The controlewr, on board, wlio travelled witli 
me from Langowan, lias been farther into the inte- 
rior, south of Gorontalo, than any foreigner previ- 
ously. He found the whole country divided up among 
many petty tribes, who are waging a continual war- 
fare with each other; and the immediate object of 
his dangerous journey was to conciliate two power- 
ful tribes near the borders of the territory which the 
Dutch claim as being under their command. He 
found that all these people are excessively addicted 
to the use of opium, which is brought from Singa- 
pore to the western coast, near Palos, by Mandha- 
rese and Macassars. 

The dress of the people consists of a sarong, 
made from the inner layers of the bark of a tree. 
They have large parangs, and value them in pro- 
portion to the number and minuteness of the damas- 
cene lines on their blades. Twenty guilders is a 
common price for them. The cont/roleur gave me a 
very fine one, which was remarkably well tempered. 
The most valuable export from this bay is gold, 
which is found in great quantities, at least over 
the whole northern peninsula, from the Minahassa 
south to the isthmus of Palos. The amount ex- 
ported is not known, for, though the Dutch Gov- 
ernment has a contract with the princes to deliver 
all the gold obtained in their territory to it at a 
certain rate, they are offered a much higher price 
by the Bugis, and consequently sell it to them. 
No extensive survey has yet been made in this 



GOLD MINES IN CELEBES. Q^Q 

territory, hj tlie mining engineers employed by tlie 
government, and the extent and riclmess of tliese 
mines are therefore wholly matters of the most 
uncertain speculation. The fact, however, that gold 
was carried from this region before the arrival 
of Eurojoeans, more than three hundred and forty 
years ago, and that the amount now exported ap- 
pears to be larger than it was then, indicates that 
the supply must be very great. The government 
has not yet granted to private individuals the 
privilege of importing machinery and laborers, and 
proving whether or not mining can be carried on 
profitably on a large scale. A fragment of rock 
from this region was shown me at Kema by a 
gentleman, Avho said he knew where there were 
large quantities of it ; and that specimen certainly 
was very rich in the precious metal. Gold is also 
found in the southwestern peninsula of Celebes, 
south of Macassar. The geological age of these 
auriferous rocks is not known, but I was assured 
that, back of Gorontalo, an outcropping of granite 
had been seen. Buffaloes and horses are plenty and 
cheap at Gorontalo, and many are sent by sea to 
the Minahassa. The horses are very fine, and from 
the earliest times the Bugis have been accustomed 
to buy and kill them to eat, having learned that such 
fiesh is a most delectable food, centuries before this 
was ascertained by the enlightened Parisians. 

January lltli. — Last night and to-day the sea 
has been smooth, almost as smooth as glass, while 
we know that on the opposite or western side of 
Celebes there has been one continuous storm. This 



380 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

is wliy we liave come down tlie eastern side of 
tlie island. Here tlie seasons on tlie east and west 
coasts alternate, as we have already noticed in 
Ceram and Burn, thongli those islands extend east 
and west, while Celebes extends north and south. 
To-day we passed through the Bangai group, lying 
between the Sula Islands and Celebes. From the 
appearance of the water, and from such soundings 
as are given, there appears to be only a depth 
of some thirty fathoms in the straits. These islands, 
therefore, not only have formed a part of the ad- 
jacent peninsula of Celebes, but do at the present 
day. 

A remarkable similarity has been noticed be- 
tween the fauna of Bachian, near the southern end 
of Gilolo, and that of Celebes, and in the Bangai and 
the Sula Islands we probably behold the remnants 
of an old peninsula that once completely joined 
those two lands. When we compare Celebes and 
Gilolo, we notice that the Bangai and Sula groups, 
stretching off to the east and southeast from one of 
the eastern peninsulas of Celebes, are analogous in 
position to Gebi, Waigiu, and Battanta, and the ad- 
jacent islands which are but the remnants of a pen- 
insula that in former times connected Gilolo to the 
old continent of New Guinea and Australia. 

Now, at sunset, we were approaching the Buton 
Passage, which separates the large island of Buton 
from Wangi - wangi, " The Sweet - scented Island." 
This is a great highway for ships bound from Singa- 
pore to China in the west monsoon, and several are 
now here, drifting over the calm sea. 



THE ISLAND OF BUTON 381 

Buton is a hilly island, but no mountains ap- 
pear. Its geological formation is said to consist 
of " recent limestone, containing madrepores and 
shells." Here, again, we find indications of tlie wide 
upheaval that appears to be occurring in the whole 
archipelago, but especially in its eastern part. It 
is quite famous for the valuable cotton it produces, 
which, in the fineness and length of its fibres, is said 
to excel that raised in any other part of the archi- 
pelago, and is therefore highly valued by the Bugis 
and Macassars. 

January 13^A.— This morning we passed a large 
American man-of-war coming down grandly from the 
west, under steam and a full press of canvas. It is a 
most agreeable and unexpected pleasure to see such 
a representation of our powerful navy in these re- 
mote seas.'"' 

The next day we passed through Salayar Strait, 
which separates the southern end of the peninsula 
of Celebes from the Salayar Islands, and may be re- 
garded as the boundary between the alternating wet 
and dry seasons on the opposite sides of Celebes. 

January 15tk — Arrived back at Macassar. There 
is nothing but one continuous series of heavy, pouring 
showers, with sharp lightning and heavy thunder. 

* I had little idea, when the above was written, that this ship was no 
other than the Hartford, made so famous by Admiral Farragut's brave 
and successful assault on the forts below Mobile, and that Eear- Admiral 
H. H. Bell, then commanding our Asiatic squadron, was on board ; and 
that during that same year (1866) it would be my privilege to meet him, 
and receive from him and the other officers of our United States ships 
so much kind assistance in making long voyages on the coasts of China, 
Oorea, and Japan. 



382 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

January IQtli. — Sailed for Surabaya in Java. 
This morning tliere is only siicli a wind as sailors 
would call a fresh, but not a heavy gale. In all 
the wide area between Java and the line of islands 
east to Timur on the south, and the tenth degree of 
north latitude, none of those frightful gales known in 
the Bay of Bengal as cyclones, and in the China Sea as 
" typhoons," have ever been experienced. The chief 
sources of solicitude to the navigator of the Java and 
the Banda Seas are the strong currents and many 
reefs of coral. 

Our large steamer is little else than a great float- 
ing menagerie. We have, as usual, many native sol- 
diers on board, and each has with him two or three 
pet parrots or cockatoos. Several of our passengers 
have dozens of large cages, containing crested pigeons 
from New Guinea, and representatives of nearly every 
species of parrot in that part of the archipelago. We 
have also more than a dozen different kinds of odd- 
looking monkeys, two or three of which are contin- 
ually getting loose and upsetting the parrot-cages, 
and, before the sluggish Malays can approach them 
mth a " rope's end " unawares, they spring up the 
shrouds, and escape the punishment which they 
know their mischief deserves. These birds and mon- 
keys are mostly purchased in the Spice Islands ; and 
if all now on board this ship could be safely trans- 
ported to New York or London, they would far ex- 
cel the collection on exhibition in the Zoological Gar- 
dens of the latter city. 

Besides the Chinese, Arabs, Malays, and other 
passengers forward, there is a Buginese woman, a 



A RAVING MANIAC. 333 

raving maniac. Slie is securely shackled by an iron 
band around the ankle to a ring-bolt in the deck. 
One moment slie is swaying to and fro, and moaning 
as if in the greatest mental agony and despair, and, 
the next moment, stamping and screeching in a per- 
fect rage, her long hair streaming in the wind, her 
eyes bloodshot, and flashing fire like a tigress which 
has been robbed of her young. It would be difiicult 
to fancy a more frightful picture. They are taking 
her to the mad-house near Samarang, w^here all such 
unfortunates are kindly cared for by the government. 
Her nation, the Bugis or Buginese, are famous for 
" running a muck." Amu\ which was written by 
the early navigators " a muck," is a common term in 
all parts of the archipelago for any reckless, bloody 
onset, whether made by one or more. It is, how- 
ever, generally used by foreigners for those insane 
attacks which the Malays sometimes make on any 
one, generally to satisfy a feeling of revenge. When 
they have decided to commit a murder of this kind, 
they usually take opium, and, when partially under 
its influence, rush out into the street with a large 
knife and try to butcher the first person they 
may chance to meet. Many years ago such emeutes 
were of fi-equent occurrence, and even at the present 
time most of the natives who stand guard in the 
city of Batavia are each armed with a long staff, on 
the end of which is a Y-shaped fork, provided on the 
inner side with barbs pointing backward. This is 
thrust against the neck of the murderer, and he is 
thus secured without danger to the policeman. 



CHAPTER XII. 



STJMATEA. 



On the third, day from Macassar we arrived 
safely at Surabaya, and. thence proceeded westward to 
Samarang, and, on tlie first of February, 1866, 1 was 
again in Batavia, having been absent in the eastern 
part of the archipelago eight months. Through the 
courtesy of Messrs. Diimmler & Co., of that city, who 
obligingly offered to receive and store my collections 
and forward them to America, I was left entirely 
free to commence a new journey. 

The generous offer of the governor-general to give 
me an order for post-horses free over all parts of Java 
was duly considered ; but as many naturalists and 
travellers have described it already, I determined to 
proceed to Sumatra, and, if possible, travel in the 
interior of that unexplored island, and, accordingly, 
on the 12th of February, I took passage for Padang 
on the Menado, the same steamer in which I had 
already travelled so many hundred miles. 

From Batavia we soon steamed away to the Strait 
of Sunda, and once more it was my privilege to be- 
hold the lofty peaks in the southern end of Suma- 
tra. From that point as far north as Cape Indrapura 



THE CITY OF PADANG. 385 

the coast is generally bordered with a narrow band 
of low land, from which rises a high and almost con- 
tinuous chain of mountains extending parallel with 
the southwest, or, as the Dutch always call it, the 
" west " coast, all the way north to Achin, 

The next morning, after passing the lofty peak 
of Indrapura, found us steaming in under the hills 
and high mountains that stand by the sea at Padang 
and rise tier above tier until they reach the crest 
of the Barizan chain, producing one of the grand- 
est effects to be enjoyed on the shores of any island 
in the whole archipelago. Padang, unfortunately, 
has no harbor, and the place where ships are obliged 
to anchor is an open, exposed roadstead. There is a 
sheltered harbor farther to the south, but it would 
cost a large sum to' build a good road from Padang 
to it by cutting down the hills and bridging the 
ravines. The distance from the anchorage to the city 
is some three miles, and all the products exported 
must be taken out to the ships on barges. 

The city of Padang is situated on a small plain, 
whence its name ; padang in Malay, meaning an open 
field or plain. Its population numbers about twelve 
thousand, and is composed of emigrants from Nias, 
Java, some Chinese and Arabs, and their mestizo 
descendants, besides the natives and Dutch. The 
streets are well shaded and neat. Near the centre 
of the city is a large, beautiful lawn, on one side of 
which is the residence of the governor. On the op- 
posite side is the Club-House, a large and well-pro- 
portioned building. On the south side is a small 
stream where the natives haul up their boats, and 

25 



386 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

here tlie barges take in tlieir cargoes. This part of 
the city is chiefly filled with the storehouses and 
offices of the merchants. In front of the governor's 
residence is a large common. Two of its sides are oc- ' 
cupied by private residences and the church, the roof 
of which has fallen in, and indeed the whole structure 
is in a most dilapidated condition compared to the rich 
Club-House on the other side of the green. Having 
landed and taken up my quarters at a hotel, I called 
on Governor Van den Eosche, who received me polite- 
ly, and said that the inspector of posts, Mr. Thebeii 
Terville, whose duty it is not only to care for trans- 
porting the mails, but also to supervise and lay out 
the post-roads, had just arrived from Java, and must 
make an overland journey to Siboga, in order to exam- 
ine a route that had been proposed for a post-road 
to that place. 

He had promised the inspector, who was an old 
gentleman, the use of his " American," a light four- 
wheeled carriage made in Boston. There was room 
for two in it, and he would propose to the inspector 
to take me with him, and further provide me with 
letters to the chief officials along the way ; but as it 
would be two or three days before Mr. Terville, who 
was then in the interior, would be ready to start, he 
proposed that I should leave the hotel and make 
my home with him- as long as I might remain in 
Padang. " Besides," he added, " I have eight good 
carriage-horses in the stable, and I have so much 
writing to do that they are spoiling for want of exer- 
cise ; now, if you will come, you can ride whenever 
you please." So again I found myself in the full tide 



BEAUTIFUL DRIVES. 387 

of fortune. It is scarcely necessary to add tliat I did 
not fail to avail myself of sucli a generous offer. In 
the evenings, wlien it became cool, tlie governor was 
accustomed to ride througli the city, and occasionally 
out a slLort distance into the country. Our roads 
were usually shaded with tall trees, frequently with 
palms, and to fly along beneath them in a nice car- 
riage, drawn by a span of fleet ponies, was a royal 
pleasure, and one never to be forgotten. One pleas- 
ant day we drove out a few miles to a large garden 
where the governor formerly resided. The palace 
had been taken down, but a fine garden and a richly- 
furnished bathing-house yet remain. The road out 
from Padang to this place led through a series of low 
rice-lands, and just then the young blades were six 
or eight inches high, and waved charmingly in the 
morning breeze. The road, for a long distance, was 
perfectly straight and bordered by large shade-trees. 
It was one of the finest avenues I ever saw. Here I 
was reminded of the region from which I had so 
lately come, the Spice Islands, by a small clove-tree, 
well filled with fruit. Much attention was formerly 
given here to the culture of the clove, but for some 
years raising coffee has proved the most profitable 
mode of employing native labor. There were also 
some fine animals in various parts of the garden, 
among which was a pair of the spotted deer. Axis 
maculata. Thus several days glided by, and the 
time for me to go up into the interior and meet 
the inspector came almost before I was aware 
of it. 

February 21s/^, 1866. — At 8 a.m. we started from 



388 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

Padang for Fort de Kock, sixty miles from this city. 
A heavy shower during the night has purified the 
air, and we have a clear, cool, and in its friUest sense 
a lovely morning. This "American" is generally 
drawn by two horses, but the governor has had thills 
put on so that one may be used, for he says, between 
Fort de Kock, where the present post-road ends, and 
Siboga, a distance of about one hundred and ninety 
miles, by the crooked route that we must travel, that 
we shall find it difficult to get one horse for a part of 
the way. Behind the carriage a small seat is fastened 
where my footman sits or stands. His duty is to 
help change the horses at the various stations, which 
are about five miles apart. When the horses are 
harnessed his next duty is to get them started, which 
is by far the most difficult, for most of those we 
have used to-day have been trained for the saddle, 
and we have not dared to put on any breeching 
for fear of losing our fender, these brutes are so 
ready to use their heels, though fortunately we have 
not needed any hold-back but once or twice, and 
then, by having the footman act as hold-back himself 
with a long line, I have urged on the horse, and in 
every case we have come down to the bottom of the 
hill safely. With only a weak coolie tugging behind, 
of course I have not been able to make these wild 
horses resist the temptation to go down the hill at a 
trot, and, after running and holding back until he was 
out of breath, the coolie has always let go, general- 
ly when I was half-way down ; nothing of course 
then remained to be done but to keep the horse gal- 
loping so fast that the carriage cannot run on to him. 



CROSSING THE STREAMS. 389 

and hj tlie time we liave come to tlie bottom of tlie 
hill we liave been moving at a break-neck rate, wkicL. 
lias been tlie more solicitous for me, as I kad never 
been on tke road, and did not know wkat unexpected 
rocks or koles tkere would be found round tke next 
skarp turn. 

From Padaiig tke road led to tke nortkwest, over 
tke low lands between tke sea and tke foot of tk6 
Barizan, or coast ckain of mountains. In tkis low 
region we kave crossed two large streams, wkick 
come down from tkese elevations on tke rigkt, and are 
now quite swollen from tke recent rains. A long and 
large rattan is stretcked across from one bank to tke 
otker, and a patk made to slip over it is fastened to 
one end of a rude raft. Tkis rattan prevents us from 
being swept down tke boiling stream, wkile tke na- 
tives pusk over tke raft witk long poles. I began to 
realize wkat an advantage it was to ride in tke carriage 
of tke Tican Jjiza, or " Great Man," as tke Malays 
all call tke governor. As soon as tkose on tke ojDpo- 
site side of tke stream saw tke carriage tkey recog- 
nized it, and at once came over by kolding on to tke 
rattan witk one kand and swimming witk tke otker. 
In tkeir struggles to kasten and kindly assist, several 
times tke keads of a number of tkem were beneatk 
tke water wken tkey came to tke middle of tke 
stream, wkere tke current was strongest and tke rattan 
very slack ; but tkere was very little danger of tkeir 
being drowned, for tkey are as ampkibious as alliga- 
tors. I liad not been riding long over tkese low 
lands before I experienced a new and unexpected 
pleasure in bekolding by tke roadside numbers of 



390 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

Ibeautifal tree-ferns, whicli, unlike their humbler rep- 
resentatives in our temperate regions, grow up into 
trees fifteen to eighteen feet high. They are interest- 
ing, not only on account of their graceful forms and 
limited distribution, but because they are the living 
representatives of a large family of trees that flour- 
ished during the coal period. 

As we proceeded, our road approached the base 
of the Barizan chain until we were quite near them, 
and then curved again around some spur that pro- 
jected toward the sea-shore. Late in the afternoon 
we came to the opening of a broad, triangular valley, 
and beheld on our right, and near the head of the 
valley, the towering peak of Singalang, whose summit 
is nine thousand eight hundred and eighty feet above 
the sea. Large numbers of natives were seen here 
travelling in company, returning homeward from the 
market at Kayu Tanam, the next village. Their holi- 
day dress here as elsewhere is a bright red. Beyond 
Kayu Tanam the road ran along the side of a deep 
ravine, having in fact been cut in the soft rock, a nar- 
row wall of it being left on the outer side to prevent 
carriages from sliding off into the deep chasm. Sud- 
denly, as we whirled round the sharp corners while 
dashing through this place, we came into a deep 
canon extending to the right and left, called by the 
Dutch the Kloof, or " Cleft," a very proper name, for 
it is a great cleft in the Barizan chain. Up this cleft 
has been built a road by which all the rich products 
of the Padangsche JSovenlanden, or " Padang pla- 
teau," are brought down to the coast. Opposite to 
us was a torrent pouring over the perpendicular side 



THE CLEFT. 39X 

of the cleft, wMcli I judge to be about seventy-five 
feet in lieiglit. Where it curved over tlie side of tlie 
precipice it was confined, but, as soon as it began to 
fall, it spread out and came down, not in one con- 
tinuous, unvarying slieet of water, but in a series of 
wavelets, until tlie wliole resembled a liuge comet 
trying, as it were, to escape from earth up to its 
proper place in the pure sky above it. On either 
side of this pulsating fall is a sheet of green vegeta- 
tion, which has gained a foothold in every crevice 
and on every projecting ledge in the precipice. Be- 
hind the falling water there is a wall of black, vol- 
canic rock, and at its foot is a mass of angular debris 
which has broken off from the cliff above. Now we 
turned sharply round to the north, and began ascend- 
ing to the plateau. The cleft has not been formed in 
a straight but in a zigzag line, so that, in looking up 
or down, its sides seem to meet a short distance be- 
fore you and prevent any farther advance in either 
direction ; but, as you proceed, the road suddenly 
opens to the right or left, and thus the effect is never 
wearying. It resembles some of the dark canons in 
our own country between the Rocky Mountains and 
Sierra Nevada, except that while their dark sides are 
of naked rock, the sides of this ravine are covered 
with a dense growth of vines, shrubs, and large trees, 
according to the steepness of the acclivities. Here 
were many trees and shrubs with very brilliantly- 
colored leaves. The whole scenery is so grand that 
no description, or even photograph, could convey an 
accurate idea of its magnificence. For four miles we 
rode up and up this chasm, and at last came on to the 



392 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

edge of tlie plateau at tlie village of Padang Panjang. 
We were then, more tlian two tLousand four hun- 
dred feet above tlie plain, having ascended about 
two thousand feet in four miles. Here the inspec- 
tor left word for me to wait a couple of days for 
him, as he was still away to the south. Hescvj show- 
ers continued the next day, so that I had little op- 
portunity of travelling far ; besides, it was very cool 
after coming up from the low, hot land by .the shore. 
There is almost always a current of air either up or 
down this cleft, and the warm air of the coast region 
is brought into contact with the cool air of the pla- 
teau, and condensation and precipitation seems to 
occur here more abundantly than at any other place 
in the vicinity, the number of rainy days numbering 
two hundred and five. This is no doubt due to the 
local causes already explained. The average tem- 
perature here is 49.28° Fahrenheit. In the cleft, at 
one or two places, are a few houses made by the peo- 
ple who have moved down from the plateau. They 
are placed on posts two or three feet above the ground. 
Their walls are low, only three or four feet high, and 
made of a rude kind of panel-work, and painted red. 
Large open places are left for windows, which allow 
any one passing to look in. There are no partitions 
and no chairs nor benches, and the natives squat down 
on the rough floor. It requires no careful scrutiny of 
these hovels to see that they are vastly more filthy 
than the bamboo huts of the Malays who live on the 
low land. 

In all the villages I have passed to-day, both on 
the low land and here on the plateau, there is a 



CRESCENT-SHAPED EOOFS. , 393 

pasctr^ or market, and, wliere they have been erected 
by the natives, they are the most remarkable build- 
ings I have seen in the archipelago. They are perched 
upon posts like the houses. The ridge-pole, instead 
of being horizontal, curves up so high at each end, 
that the roof comes to have the form of a crescent 
with the horns pointing upward. Sometimes a shorter 
roof is placed in the middle of the longer, and then 
the two look like a small crescent within a large one. 
Long before Europeans came to this land these peo- 
ple were accustomed to meet to barter their products, 
and this was their only kind of internal commerce. The 
next morning I rode part way down the cleft to near 
the place where the post-horses are changed, and found 
a marble that was soft, but so crystalline as to contain 
no fossils. I understand, however, that Mr. Van 
Dijk, one of the government mining engineers, dis- 
covered some pieces of this limestone which had not 
been crystallized, and that he considered the species 
of corals seen in them to be entirely of the recent 
period. Limestone again appears in the cleft of 
Paningahan, a short distance to the south. The rocks 
with which it is interstratiiied are chloritic schists, 
that is, layers of clay changed into hard schists by 
the action of heat and pressure. 

February 23d. — The inspector arrived this morning, 
and we set out together for Fort de Kock, about twelve 
miles distant. From Padang Panjang the road con- 
tinues to rise to the crest of a ridge or col, which 
crossed our road in an easterly and westerly direction, 
and connects Mount Singalang with Mount M^rapi. 
This acclivity is very nicely terraced, and the water is 



394 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

retained in tlie little plats by dikes. Wlien any excess 
is poured into tlie uppermost in the series, it runs 
over into tliose beneath it, and tlius a constant sup- 
ply of water is kept over all. On looking upward 
we saw only tke vertical sides of tke little terraces 
covered mtk turf, and, in looking down, only the 
rice-fields. Near the crest of the col we could look 
down the flanks of the Merapi to Lake Sinkara away 
to the south. The earth here is a tenacious red clay 
formed by the decomposition of the underlying vol- 
canic rocks and volcanic ashes and sand. These are 
arranged in layers which have an inclination nearly 
parallel to the surface. The layers of ashes and sand 
may have been partly formed in their present posi- 
tion by successive eruptions in the summits of the 
neighboring peaks, but those of clay show that the 
col has been elevated somewhat since they were 
formed. The height of this col is three thousand 
seven hundred feet, and this is the highest place 
crossed by the road from Padang to Siboga. We now 
began slowly to descend, passing wide, beautifully- 
cultivated sawas on either hand to Fort de Kock. 
Here on a pretty terrace is located the house of the 
Resident, who has command of the adjoining elevated 
lands, so famous in the history of this island as the 
kingdom of Menangkabau, whence the Malays origi- 
nally migrated, whom we have found on the shores of 
all the islands we have visited, and who are very dis- 
tinct from the aborigines of these islands, as we have 
particularly noticed at Buru. 

The dress of the men here is not very different 
from that of the Malays of Java, but the costume 



DISTENDING THE LOBE OF THE EAR. 395 

of the women is remarkable. On the head is worn a 
long scarf, wound round like a turban, one end being 
allowed to hang down, sometimes over the forehead, 
and sometimes on one side, or on the back of the 
head. The upper part of the body is clothed in a 
baju of the common pattern, and passing over one 
shoulder, across the breast, and under the opposite 
arm is a long, bright-colored scarf. The ends of this, 
as well as that worn on the head, are ornamented 
with imitations of leaves and fruit, very tastefully 
wrought with gold thread. At the waist is fastened 
the sarong, which is not sewn up at the ends as 
in other parts of the archipelago. It is therefore 
nothing but a piece of calico, about a yard long, 
wound round the body, and the two ends gathered 
on the right hip, where they are twisted together, 
and tucked under, so as to form a rude knot. As 
the sarong is thus open on the right side, it is 
thrown apart higher than the knee at every step, 
like the statues representing the goddess Diana in 
hunting-costume. Their most remarkable custom, 
however, is distending the lobe of the ear, as seen in 
the accompanying cut from a photograj)h of one of the 
women at the kampong here at Fort de Kock. When 
young, an incision is made in the lobe, and a stiff leaf 
is rolled up, and thrust into it, in such a way that 
the tendency of the leaf to unroll will stretch the in- 
cision. When one leaf has lost its elasticity it is 
exchanged for another, and, in this way, the opening 
increases until it is an inch in diameter. This must 
be a very painful process, judging from the degree to 
which the ears of the young girls are inflamed and 



396 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

swollen. A saucer-shaped ornament, with a groove 
in its rim, is then put into the ear, exactly as a stud is 
put into a gentleman's shirt-bosom. It is generally 
made of gold, and the central part consists of a very 
fine open work, so that it is very light, yet the open- 
ing in the ear continues to increase until it is fre- 
quently an inch and a half in diameter, and almost 
large enough for the wearer to pass one of her hands 
through. The front part of the loop is then only at- 
tached to the head by a round bundle of muscles, 
smaller than a pipe - stem, and the individual is 
obliged to lay aside her ornaments or have the 
lower part of her ears changed, into long, dangling 
strings. While these ornaments (for it is not proper 
to call such a saucer-shaped article a ring) can be 
worn in the ear, the api^earance of the native women, 
as seen in the cut, is like that of the other Malay 
women ; but as soon as these ornaments are taken 
out, and the lobes of their ears are seen to be nothing 
but long loops, their appearance then becomes very 
repulsive. The men are never guilty of this loath- 
some practice. A similar habit of distending the 
lobe of the ear prevails in Borneo, among the Dyak 
women. It is also seen in all the Chinese and Jap- 
anese images of Buddha. The native women of 
India are accustomed to wear several small rings, 
not only all round in the edge of the ear, but in the 
nostrils. A large number of rings are shown in the 
ear of the cut of a Dyak or head-hunter of Borneo. 
Even in the most civilized lands this same barbaric 
idea — that a lady is made more prepossessing by 



^.-^mV: ^^^ 




WOMAN OF THE PADANG PLATEAU. 
P- ^'^- From a photograph. 



CANONS. 39Y 

having some foreign substance thrust through, and 
dangling from, each ear — still prevails. 

After we had rested from our ride, the Resident 
took us through the adjoining kampong. The houses 
were like those already described in the Cleft. Our 
attention was particularly drawn to the magnificent 
bamboos by the roadside, many of Avhich attain a 
height of forty or fifty feet. 

February 'iMTi. — The inspector, having travelled 
for some time, prefers to rest to-day, and as I am 
anxious to see the lake of Manindyu, which is some 
distance off our route, I avail myself of the oppor- 
tunity. The Resident kindly gave me a very fine 
saddle-horse, and early this morning we started in 
a northwesterly direction for Matua. Our path at 
once led down from the high plateau into a series of 
deep valleys with perpendicular sides, composed of 
stratified sand and clay, formed by the disintegration 
and decomposition of pumice-stone. These deep val- 
leys have been wholly formed by the action of the 
rapid streams which flow in their bottoms, and which, 
by changing their courses from one side of the valley 
to the other, have carried away the talus that has 
formed at the bases of the cliffs. These cliffs, there- 
fore, are perpendicular, whether the valleys be wide 
or narrow. The strata of the sand and clay are so 
horizontal that we are warranted in considering them 
deposited in a lake of fresh or salt water. ISTo fos- 
sils of any kind, so far as I can learn, have ever been 
seen in these late deposits, to determine whether 
they are of lacustrine or marine origin. The upper 
edges of the sides of these deep valleys are so sharply 



398 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO, 

defined tliat tlie buffaloes, feeding on tlie grass-lands 
above, unconsciously venture too far, and of course 
are instantly killed by sucli a liigli fall, and, for this 
reason, tlie Dutch call them " buffalo holes," 

At several places small tributaries come in as 
branches to the main stream, which here flows to the 
northwest, and the tongue of land in the acute angle 
of such branches rises up like a perpendicular wall 
with a sharp edge. These deep valleys resemble the 
canons of the Colorado, which were also formed by 
the erosive action of running water ; but here the sce- 
nery is on a small scale compared to those deep, dark, 
gloomy chasms. Two or three times we climbed 
the zigzag path that led up the sides of one valley, 
and then went down again into the next valley. The 
bottoms of these canons, being well watered, are admir- 
ably suited for the cultivation of rice, and here were 
some plats still overflowed where the rice was only 
a few inches high, and not far from them others, 
where the natives were collecting the ripe, golden 
blades. Such a mingling of planting the seed, 
and gathering in the ripe grain, appeared the more 
strange when I thought of our temperate climate, 
where we are obliged to sow at a certain time in the 
year or reap no harvest. The higher lands between 
these valleys form a plateau, which, from Fort de 
Kock to Matua, is very sterile when compared to the 
high land farther south. 

From Matua our course changed to the west and 
lay through broad sawas filled with half-grown rice. 
It slowly ascended, until we found ourselves on the 
edge of a crater of most enormous dimensions. Thick 



DESCENDING INTO AN EXTINCT CRATER. 399 

rain-clouds gathered and began pouring down lieavy 
sliowers, wliicli obscured every thing about us, and I 
could only see that we stood on the edge of a vast 
yawning gulf. Our way now rapidly descended first 
to the right and then to the left, and, as I looked 
down into the deep abyss which we were descend- 
ing, such thick vapors enveloped us that every thing 
was hidden from our view at the distance of a hun- 
dred yards, and it seemed as if we must be going 
down into the Bottomless Pit. Down and down we 
went, until at last I became quite discouraged, and 
seriously began to think of explaining to my native 
guide that the wisest heads which lived in my land 
believe that the centre of the earth is nothing but a 
mass of molten rock, and to inquire of him whether 
he was sure we should stop short of such an uncom- 
fortable place, when the thick mist which enshrouded 
us cleared away, and I beheld far, far beneath me a 
large lake, and above me the steep, overhanging cra- 
ter-wall which I had descended ; but I was only half- 
way down, yet I had the satisfaction of knowing there 
was an end to the way, and, besides, the road was not 
so steep, and consequently not so slippery as the half 
we had already come. So we slipped and j)lodded 
on, and early in the afternoon I came to the residence 
of the controleur of that region, at the village of Ma- 
nindyu, on the east side of the lake. 

The height of the edge of the crater where we 
began to descend is thirty-six hundred feet, and that 
of the lake fifteen hundred and forty above the sea. 
The perpendicular distance that we had come down, 
therefore, was over two thousand feet ; but to come 



400 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

tliat distance, our road liad zigzagged so continually 
to tlie right and left, that we liad travelled five miles. 
Toward evening the rain ceased, and the controleur 
conducted me a short distance north of the kampong 
to a hot spring, where the natives have a square pool 
for bathing, and covered it with a small house, for 
they ascribe all sorts of healing virtues to this warm 
water. I found the water to be perfectly pure to the 
eye, and free from any sensible escape of gas. Its 
temperature was 102 J° Fahrenheit, and an abundance 
of algae was seen on the rocks beneath its surface. 

At sunset, the heavy clouds that had filled the 
crater during the day slowly rose upward, but not 
so high at first as to allow us to see the tops of the 
peaks in the serrated crest of the crater-wall oppo- 
site. The bright sunlight, therefore, shone in through 
the triangular openings between the lower surface of 
the level clouds, and the bottoms of the sharp val- 
leys, and these oblique bands of golden light fell on 
the water at some distance from the opposite shore, 
and then came over the lake and illuminated the 
place where we sat watching this unique and mag- 
nificent view. 

After the sunlight had faded, the clouds rose 
higher, and I could look round and behold all sides 
of the largest crater it has been my privilege to see, 
and indeed one of the largest in the world. The 
general height of the wall does not vary much from 
that point where I crossed it coming down, and is 
very steep, except at that place, and in many parts 
nearly perpendicular. It is not circular, but com- 
posed of two circles of unequal diameter, which 



GREAT CRATER OF MANINDYU. 401 

unite on one side, and leave a tongue of land project- 
ing from the east and west sides. Eacli of tliese cir- 
cles is a crater, and tlie tongues of land tliat project 
from either side of tlie lake mark the boundaries be- 
tween tkem. The width of the larger crater at the 
level of the lake, as given on the best maps I have 
been able to consult, is three geogra]3hical miles ; 
that of the smaller crater, at the same level, two and 
a quarter miles ; and the length of the lake, which 
lies in a northerly and southerly direction, and is ap- 
proximately parallel to the great Barizan chain in 
which it is found, is no less than six geographical 
miles. These two craters, I believe, were not formed 
at the same time. The larger crater, which is on the 
north, is older, and the smaller one to the south is 
the later, the eruptive force which formed the larger 
having lost some of its power, as well as having 
slightly changed its position when it formed the 
smaller. This gigantic crater is the more interesting 
to us, because it is as large as the one we supposed 
formerly existed in the Banda Islands, when we re- 
garded Great Banda, Pulo Pisang, and Pulo Kapal, 
as parts of the walls of that crater, if, as was then 
suggested, that crater was nOt circular, but nearly 
elliptical, like this great one of Manindyu. Even the 
famous crater of the Tenger Mountains becomes of 
moderate dimensions, when compared to this. 

In the western side of the larger crater is a cleft or 
deep ravine that conducts the superfluous waters to 
the sea. This split, it may be noticed, has occurred 
on the side toward the sea, where, of course, the wall 
of the crater was thinnest and weakest. This re- 

26 



402 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

gion is considered quite valuable, because coffee-trees 
flourisli Lere remarkably well. The coffee obtained 
is brought over the lake in boats to the mouth of the 
outlet, and thence transported to the village of Tiku, 
on the coast. 

The controleur also showed me a quantity of the 
edible birds'-nests obtained in the neighboring cliffs, 
that were considered of a superior quality, that is, 
by Chinese palates, for, if the Celestials had not taken 
a fancy that these should be regarded as dainties, I 
do not believe that Europeans would have ever 
thought of tasting them. 

February 25^7^. — At eight o'clock rode back with 
the controleur up the crater wall, by the way I came 
down yesterday. The road is built on the spur or 
projecting ridge that forms the boundary between 
the two craters on the east side, and zigzags to the 
right and left in such a manner that, when viewed 
from beneath, it reminds one of the way, usually 
pictured, that the people of Babel climbed their lofty 
tower. To shorten the distance, we went over a 
number of steep places, instead of going round by 
the road. The clay and wet grass, however, were so 
slippery that such climbing was exceedingly danger- 
ous ; but the rider had the satisfaction of knowing 
that, if his horse did lose his footing altogether, they 
would both go down so many hundred feet that nei- 
ther would suffer pain for many moments after their 
descent was ended. 

The heavy rain of yesterday had wholly cleared 
away, and when we reached the crater run we enjoyed 
a perfect view of this enormous gulf, six miles long 



IMMENSE AMPHITHEATRES. 403 

and four miles broad, and more than two thousand 
feet deep. Apparently the crater had ceased its ac- 
tion a long time ago, and now the hot springs on the 
borders of the lake are the only reminders of the 
causes that formed it ages and ages ago. As we 
looked down from our high point, clouds were seen 
floating beneath us, and on the opposite wall of the 
crater, long, narrow, vertical strips of naked earth 
marked the places where land-slides had come down 
its precipitous declivities. 

Soon after we reached Matua, the inspector ar- 
rived from Fort de Kock, and we went on together 
toward the northwest. The road was exceedingly 
rough, and, after riding five miles, our little pony 
became so worn out that I got out and walked to 
Palimbayang, the next station, a distance ,of nine 
miles, in the scorching, tropical sun. The road from 
Matua is built on the side of the Barizan chain, and 
we had on our right a deep valley, in the bottom of 
which coursed the stream that we had previously 
crossed in the deep canons near Fort de Kock. Sev- 
eral small streams came down from the mountains 
on our left, and in the side valleys, where those 
streams entered the main one, the natives had formed 
many terraces. 

A number of these smaller valleys had the form 
of an ellipse, cut in two at its minor axis. In the 
distance they looked like immense amphitheatres, the 
horizontal terraces forming the seats for the imagi- 
nary spectators — amphitheatres of such ample dimen- 
sions that, in comparison with them, even the great 
Coliseum at Rome dwindles into insignificance. 



404: TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

The lieiglit of tMs point is a little less tlian that 
at Matua, and all the way from Fort de Kock to this 
place I have been able to keep in sight the remains 
of the platean v^hich begins on the south with 
the col between the Singalang and Merapi. The 
horizontal layers, that once filled the whole valley 
west of us, have been carried away by the streams 
until only a narrow margin is left on the Barizan, 
and its parallel chain ; it forcibly reminds me of the 
terraces seen along the upper part of some of our 
own New-England rivers — for instance, those in the 
upper part of the Connecticut Valley. 

Here, at Palimbayang, I have had the first oppor- 
tunity of enjoying a view of that magnificent moun- 
tain, Ophir, nine thousand seven hundred and sev- 
enty feet in height. Its truncated summit indicates 
that its highest parts are the ruins of an old crater, 
and this thought reminds us of the volcanic action 
to which the mountain owes its birth. The name of 
this mountain is not of native origin, but was given 
it by the Portuguese, because they fancied that at 
last they had found the place where the ships of 
Solomon obtained the enormous quantities of gold 
that he used in adorning the magnificent temple of 
Jerusalem. The same name they also gave to an- 
other, but a much smaller mountain, on the Malay 
Peninsula, forty miles north of the city of Malacca. 

In the vicinity of both of these mountains much 
gold had been obtained for centuries before Euro- 
peans ever came to this region. The idea enter- 
tained by the Portuguese, that a part of the gold 
which reached Jerusalem came from this island and 



OPHIR. 



405 



the peninsula, lias been tlie subject of mucli ridicule, 
but, nevertlieless, there may be considerable evidence 
in favor of such an hypothesis. 

No one region is known in that part of the east 
that could have furnished all the different articles 
brought by Solomon's fleet ; and Ophir has therefore 
been considered the name of an emporium, situated 
near the entrance of the Red Sea, or, more probably, 
near the head of the Arabian Sea, at the mouth of 
the Indus. The names in the Hebrew of the articles 
thus brought, show that they are all of foreign ori- 
gin, having been evidently adopted from some other 
language, and probably from the Sanscrit.''^' The 
name for peacock appears to have been derived from 
the word in Tamil, a language spoken on the Mala- 
bar coast by the Telingas, or " Klings," who visited 
this island and the Malay Peninsula long before the 
time of Solomon, 1015 to 975 b. c, for the tin used 
by the Egyptians in making their implements of 
bronze, as early as 2000 b. c, doubtless came from 
the Malacca, and the Klings were the people who 
took it as far toward Egypt as the eastern shore of 
India. Tin and gold are both obtained in the same 
manner, namely, by washing alluvial deposits. 

Gold is found in small quantities over a very 
considerable part of the Malay Peninsula. It has 
always been more highly valued than tin, and it 
is, therefore, by all means probable that it was an 
article of commerce, and was exported to India 

* Vide Max Miiller's "Lectures on the Science of Language," First 
Course, p. 224. 



406 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

.as early as tin, or at least five liunclred years before 
Solomon commenced building Ms splendid temple. 

Gold is also found in the v^estern and southern 
parts of Bcn^neo, and in some places on Luzon and 
Magindanao, in tlie Philippine Archipelago, As we 
have already noticed, it is found on Bachian, and, in 
the northern and southern peninsulas of Celebes. It 
is indeed one of the most widely-distributed metals 
obtained in the archipelago. It is not only found 
on many of the islands that are not wholly of vol- 
canic origin, between Asia and Australia, but also 
from place to place over both of those continents. 
The quantity obtained here, on Sumatra, is wholly 
unknown, but, judging from what is used in orna- 
ments, it must be very considerable. It is always 
bought and sold in the form of " dust," and has never 
been coined for money in any part of the archipelago, 
except at Achin. 



CHAPTEE XIII. 

TO THE LAIfD OF THE CANNIBALS. 

February ^Qtli. — At 7 a. m. rode down tlie edge 
of tlie plateau to tlie bottom of a deep ravine, and 
then climbed up tlie opposite ridge. Here we met 
all tlie rajahs and their attendants in the vicinity, and 
again descended to the bottom of a second ravine to 
the little village of Pisang. As the way was exceed- 
ingly rough, I preferred to rid^e a nice horse the con- 
troleur had given me, to being jolted in the carriage. 
Beyond Pisang our road lay in a narrow valley, and, 
as the sky was clear and the neighboring hills pre- 
vented any breeze from reaching us, we seemed to be 
at the focus of a great burning lens. In the thick 
woods on either hand troops of large, black monkeys 
kept up a hooting or trumpeting, their prolonged 
cries sounding exactly like a score of amateurs practis- 
ing on trombones. In some places the din they made 
was quite deafening. In one place the road j)assed 
through a deep cut through strata, composed of sand 
and conglomerate, which probably once filled the 
whole valley. From Pisang, which is at an eleva- 
tion of seventeen hundred feet, we continued to de- 
scend until we came to the small valley of Bondyol, 
which is only seven hundred and forty feet above the 



408 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

sea. On tlie way we met tlie cojitroletir superintend- 
ing the construction of a bridge, for tlie officials in 
tliese small places liave to plan buildings and bridges 
and be at the same time judges, architects, and ma- 
sons. The residence of this officer Avas located on a 
hill rising on one side of the small valley. It was 
nicely shaded, and commanded a view over the ad- 
joining lowlands, which were all sawas. At this 
place I saw some of the beautiful little musk-deer of 
this region — a deer that is only about a foot and a 
half high, without antlers, and weighs less than a 
rabbit. 

There were more than a dozen monkeys in the 
backyard. Some of them were of the dog-like species, 
others with long tails and long limbs. Some of them 
were extremely restless, while others sat still and 
looked so grave and dignified as to be more comical 
than their mischievous companions. There are ten 
species on this island, none of which are found in 
Java, while the four species of Java are never seen 
here, such a limit does the Strait of Sunda form to 
the faunae of these two islands, although it is only 
fifteen miles wide in some places, and islands are 
nearly midway from either shore. The most remark- 
able of the apes found on the island is the orang-utan, 
which lives in the lowlands in the northern and east- 
ern parts of the island. The governor at Padang 
had a live one that had been sent him from that 
region. She was more than three feet high and very 
strong. Escaping one time from the box where she 
was fastened, she climbed a neighboring shade-tree 
and commenced breaking off large limbs and placing 



THE ORANG-UTAN. 409 

them in a fork of the tree until she had made herself 
a nice resting-place. That, however, not oeing high 
enough, she climbed up nearly to the top of the tree 
and then broke all the twigs near her, and thus form- 
ed a second couch. She did not sway to and fro con- 
tinually, as many monkeys do, but used to sit quietly 
picking oif all the foliage within her reach, and then 
took up another position and demolished the foliage 
there in the same manner. It is very singular this 
animal is found on Sumatra and Borneo, and has 
never been seen on the Malay Peninsula, which al- 
most lies between them. 

Fehruary 2^th. — At 7.30 a. m. started on 
horseback for Lubu Sikeping. At first the road 
led through the lowland near Bondyol, and then 
crossing a rapid stream began to ascend a narrow 
winding valley. My little pony took me up the 
steep places apparently with as little exertion as if 
we were ascending a gentle acclivity. Like all the 
saddle and carriage horses used in the archipelago, he 
was a stallion, it being considered among all these 
islands as disgraceful for a man to ride or drive a 
mare as it would be in our lanel for a farmer to plough 
with a yoke of cows. Even geldings are never seen, 
and, as would naturally be expected, the stallions, 
unless remarkably well-trained, are very vicious, and, 
worse than all, extremely capricious, springing, or 
kicking, or halting, without any provocation, and 
without giving their rider the slightest warning ; but, 
when they are perfectly trained, they are among the 
finest saddle-horses in the world, they are so fleet and 
so sure-footed. In a short time the narrow valley 



410 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

cliangecl into a deep ravine, and tlie road continued 
to ascend along one of its steep sides, and became so 
narrow that I was afraid my horse would lose Ms 
footing in the soft clay, and that we should both go 
down to certain destruction on the rocks that raised 
their ragged jaws above the spray of the foaming 
torrent below. A dark forest of primeval, gigantic 
trees covered the sides of the mountains above us, 
and crossing a rickety bridge we found many of their 
huge trunks lying across our path. They had lived 
to their allotted age and had not fallen by the hand 
of man. This road has been lately made, and already 
great fissures in its outer edge show that it is quite 
ready to slide down the mountain. 

Large troops of monkeys have established them- 
selves in this dark gorge, and just when I was in the 
most dangerous place they made a frightful noise, 
some trumpeting, some screeching, and some making 
a prolonged shrill whistling, yet I could only see one 
or two, though the natives who were building the 
road assured me that the tops of the trees were full 
of them. While in this deep ravine I crossed the 
equator for the third time since I entered the archi- 
pelago. 

I had now climbed up one thousand four hundred 
feet during my short ride, and was therefore two 
thousand one hundred feet above the sea. To the 
northwest there now opened out before me a long, 
narrow, gently descending valley, like the one I had 
left behind ; in fact, this water-shed is merely a trans- 
verse ridge which unites the Barizan chain with the 
chain parallel to it, in the same way as it is done by 



LUBU SIKfiPING. 



411 



the transverse ranges in whicli the Merapi and the 
Sago rise. This appears to be naturally as fruitful a 
region as the Menangkabau country proper, and 
was undoubtedly included within the limits of 
that empire during its most flourishing period. This 
valley is generally very poorly cultivated, on account 
of the small numbers of its population. By the way- 
side were a number of coffee-gardens. The trees 
were well filled with fi-uit, but they had been great- 
ly neglected, and the tall grass was rapidly choking 
them. 

A few miles farther on I came to Lubu Sikeping, 
where we were to rest until the next day. A native 
opziener, or " overseer," was stationed here to receive 
the coffee from the adjoining plantations. He had 
not heard of our coming, and was quite surprised to 
see a stranger here in such a remote spot among the 
mountains, and not the less so when I informed him 
that the inspector was just behind me, and that I 
only chanced to be in advance because, from what I 
had heard of the road in the gorge, I had no fancy to 
ride through it in a vdde carriage. He received us, 
however, like all the other officials, in the most polite 
manner, and was evidently glad that something had 
occurred to break up the dull routine of such a life of 
exile. It was market-day here, and, as soon as I met 
some of the natives returning to their homes, I saw 
that they were a different people from those of the 
Menangkabau country, and the overseer told me that 
they are not natives of this particular region, but 
belong to the wild tribe of Lubus, which I should 
see farther up the valley, and that it is for this reason 



412 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

that this place is called Lubn Sikeping. Tliey now 
build houses like those of other Malays. They are 
better-formed people than the Javanese, and closely 
resemble in their features the Oranglaut, or common 
Malays of the coast regions. Their favorite holiday- 
dress is chiefly a bright scarlet. Half an hour after 
I arrived here the inspector came. He had found the 
road so narrow in one or two places that the natives 
had to push out planks beyond the outer edge of the 
road to support the outside wheels of the carriage, 
and I was glad that I came on horseback, though, 
when I led the vicious brute, I had to keep a constant 
watch to prevent him from seizing my wrist in his 
teeth. 

At 5 p. M. we walked out to enjoy the grand 
scenery in the vicinity. The level plateau here, which 
is one thousand five hundred feet above the sea, is 
bounded on the northeast side by an exceedingly 
steep, almost overhanging range of mountains, whose 
several crests appear to be five thousand feet above 
us. It was one of the most imposing sights I wit- 
nessed on that island of high mountains. Mount 
Ophir is just west of this place, and at sunset we 
saw it through a gap in the mountains near us, rest- 
ing its lofty purple summit against the golden sky. 

Fehruary 28th. — I find it much more agreeable to 
ride on horseback most of the time, because I can stop 
or turn round when I please, and the opziener has 
therefore given me a horse to go the next ten paals. 
For all that distance the scenery was much like that 
described last night, exce|)t that the valley kept widen- 
ing as we progressed northward, and, therefore, the 



TIGERS AND BUFFALOES. 413 

mountains, being fartlier from us, were not so impos- 
ing. When we had. come to tlie limit of the overseer's 
territory, another living in the next district met us and 
travelled with us to his little house, where we dined 
on venison while he entertained, us with tiger-stories. 
Only a few days before we arrived he had seen a 
tiger in the road but little more than a rifle-shot from 
his house; and, indeed, the deer that supplied the 
venison we were eating had been shot in his own gar- 
den, where it had evidently been chased by one of 
those ferocious beasts. At the opziener's houses there 
is a regular price for every thing furnished, and you 
order what you please, though one can seldom feast 
on venison, and must generally satisfy his hunger on 
chickens and eggs, and, to receive both of these dif- 
ferent articles, he needs only to order the latter. In the 
houses of all of&cials of a higher rank than opzieners 
it would be considered no less than an insult to 
offer to pay for your lodging. From this place I 
rode with the inspector a distance of twenty-five 
miles to E,au, the chief village in this valley. We 
had not gone far before we came into herds of buf- 
faloes, which are more than half-wild and said to be 
very dangerous, but the natives that accompanied us 
kept up a loud shouting, and the herd leaped to the 
right and left into the jungle and tall grass, and al- 
lowed us to pass on unmolested. The |)eople here 
sometimes shoot them, but consider it a most danger- 
ous kind of sport, for they say that when one is 
wounded, but not fatally, he will certainly turn and 
pursue the hunter, and, if he can overtake him, will 
quickly gore him to death. 



414 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

On our way we crossed several long, covered 
bridges, one of wliicli was so low and onr horse so 
unmanageable, tliat we came near losing tlie to|) of 
our carriage before we could tlirow it back. Two or 
three of them were so bent down in the middle by 
only a buffalo and a native occasionally crossing them, 
that I was unwilling to risk myself in the carriage, 
and jumped out and crossed them on foot. One 
vibrated xij> and doAvn in such a manner that I 
certainly expected at the next moment I should 
see the insj^ector, horse, bridge, and all, in the midst 
of the stream below. This stream begins at Lubu 
Sikeping, and, after flowing northwest to Rau, where 
it is called Sumpur, it curves to the northeast, and, 
receiving tributaries during its course, flows on till it 
empties into the Strait of Malacca. The coffee raised 
in this valley is transported in. padatis from Lunda, a 
small village south of this place, over a high, difficult 
way to Ayar Bangis, on the west coast. Sometimes 
a hot simoom swee]3S up the valley from the south, 
parching u]3 the vegetation and causing a severe ill- 
ness to those foreigners who are exposed to it. The 
mountains here are much lower on the east than on 
the west, and, as there are no deep clefts in the Bari- 
zan chain here, as in the Menangkabau country, the 
Sumpiu" is obliged to find its outlet to the east. 

The soil here is not as fertile as farther to the 
north, where it is somewhat higher, the elevation of 
this point being only one thousand feet. Here we 
see the benefit of the transverse ranges that connect 
the Barizan. to its parallel chain. At Bondyol, in 
the next valley to the south, where we were yester- 



THE VALLEY OF RAU. 



415 



day, we found tlie bottom of the valley abounding 
in rich vegetation, though that Vv^as three hundred 
feet lower than this place, because that valley is so 
short that the air has no room to become heated to a 
dry simoom, which can wither the vegetation as it 
sweeps along. It is, therefore, in this valley that the 
simoom is formed, not on the high mountains that 
border it or on the adjacent ocean. 

March 1st — ^Left Eau at 6 a. m., for we have an- 
other long day's journey before us. As yesterday, 
the road led along the bottom of the valley, but soon 
a range of mountains appeared before us, and we 
began to ascend along the side of a deep ravine. The 
rock here was exposed, and proved to be a soft sand- 
stone covered with clay. Here we came to a third 
water-shed two thousand one hundred and fifty feet 
high, and could look back down the valley of Rau to 
the southeast. Its length in a right line, from this 
water-shed to that at the gorge near Lubu Sikeping, 
is thirty geographical miles, but, instead of being 
straight, it curves to the northeast, and is of a 
crescent form, vddest in the middle, and gradually 
narrowing toward the extremities. In its broadest 
part it is not more than six or eight miles wide. We 
now turned to the northwest, and began to descend 
into another valley, that of Mandeling. Here the 
mountains are quite devoid of forests, and only cov- 
ered with a tall, rank, useless grass, the Anch^oj)ogon 
caricosum. 

At Marisipongi, the first village we came to in 
this valley, we found we were among an entii^ely new 
people, the Battas or Bataks. They also belong to 



416 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

the Malay race, but liave an alphabet and a language 
of their own. Each of their villages usually consists 
of only a single street, which is straight, and not 
necessarily parallel to the road. Here it was market- 
day, and, while we stopped to rest, I had a good op- 
portunity of observing them. The women generally 
wore only a sarong fastened at the waist and descend- 
ing to the knee, the upper part of the body being 
wholly uncovered. As we passed, the younger wo- 
men made up for this deficiency to the best of their 
ability with the scarf in which they were carrying 
their children. These young women have the odd 
custom of wearing from fifteen to twenty iron rings 
in each ear, and as many more on their arms above 
the wrist. 

A great many persons of both sexes, and even 
some children, were afflicted with that unsightly 
malady, goitre, and had large swellings, generally on 
the neck, though I noticed one at the lower end of 
the breastbone. The cause assigned here by the 
Dutch officials for this disease is that these people 
have been accustomed to use very little salt, the iodine 
contained in that condiment being supposed to act as 
a preventive to the development of the disease. It is 
said to seldom or never appear among those Malays 
who have lived on the sea-coast for several genera- 
tions, and I do not remember to have seen a single 
case in such a locality. 

The market-jDlace was nothing but a shed, and 
here a few Chinese and Arabs were displaying cotton 
cloth, knives, and ornaments, and the natives had 
brought dried and smoked fish, which they catch in 



A BATTA GRAVE. 4;I_Y 

these mountain-streams, also bananas, j ambus or rose- 
apples, and a kind of fruit lite tliat from wliicli tlie 
guava jelly is made. 

Kice is tlie chief article of food of tlie natives here, 
v^^itli dried fish and bananas, and a few eggs and chich- 
ens. From this village we rode to Kotanopan, our 
way again descending along a large foaming brook, 
in which the opziener of that district assured me the 
natives were accustomed to Avash for gold, which they 
still obtain, though only in small quantities. 

Here we passed the grave of a Batta. It con- 
sisted of a rectangular mound, with a wooden image 
of a horse's head on one end, and a j)art of a horse's 
tail fastened to the other — the mound formino; his 
body. At each of the four corners was an image of a 
nude man or woman. Over the whole was a rude roof 
supported on four posts, and around the whole was 
placed a row of sticks four feet high, and a foot or 
two apart, bearing on their tops small flags of white 
cloth. This tendency to ornament graves we have 
already noticed among the aborigines of the Mina- 
hassa. It is also seen, but in a more revolting form, 
in the Papuan temple at Dorey. 

March '2cl. — From Kotanopan we have come to 
Fort Elout, after a journey of more than ordinary 
danger. For the first five miles our road was very 
good, but then we found it completely overgrov/n 
with tall grass. So long as it was over the level 
lands there was little danger, but soon it changed to 
the flanks of a S23ur, thrown out by the chain that 
formed the northeastern boundary of the valley. 
There it became very narrow, and the tall grass com- 
27 



418 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

pletely Md its outer edge. Besides, onr horse was 
wlioUy "unaccustoined to a carriage, and only half- 
trained, and every few moments took it into his head 
to stop so short that we had to hold on to the car- 
riage all the time, or at an unexpected moment find 
ourselves going over the fender. The road was now 
taking us out toward the end of the spur, the ravine 
was growing deeper and deeper with an alarming 
rapidity, and I began to wish myself out of the car- 
riage, but the ins|)ector was unwilling to stop the 
horse for fear we could not get him started again. A 
Malay was guiding our mid steed by the bit, and 
away we were dashing at full gallop, when suddenly, 
as we rounded the spur, the road, which was cut in 
the rock, was so narrow that the outside wheels of 
the carriage were just on its outer edge, and from 
that verge the rock descended in such a perpendicu- 
lar precipice that I could look from my seat in the 
carriage down fully two hundred feet, with a boiling 
torrent beneath me. It was e^'idently too late to 
jump then, so I seized hold of the carriage, deter- 
mined not to go oif before my companion, the in- 
spector, who, realizing at once our great danger, and 
perceiving that the only thing that we could do was 
to keep the horse going at the top of his speed, 
shouted to the horse, and, in the same breath, threat- 
ened to take off the Malay's head if he should let go 
of the bridle. Some fragments of rock had fallen 
down into the road, and our fore- wheel, on the 
inner side, struck these with such violence that I 
thought certainly we should be thro^vn off the nar- 
row shelf down the precipice. For two minutes we 




p. 41!l, 



RIOING ALONG THE EDGE OF A PRECIPICE, 



EIDING ALONG THE EDGE OF A PKECIPICE. 419 

seemed fco hang in the air, and then the road widened. 
I drew a long breath of relief, and then bonnded out 
over the wheel on to the solid ground, before I conld 
fully satisfy myself that, thanks to a kind Providence 
and the force of gravitation, I was really safe. 

The ins|)ector said that he had travelled many 
thousand miles in Java, in all manners of ways, and 
through all manners of dangers, but was never so 
frightened before, and that he would not go back 
that way in a carriage for ten thousand guilders. If 
we had only known what we were coming to, we 
could have got out and walked, but it was already too 
late when we saw the danger. I determined to ride 
no farther in the carriage that day, and made our guide 
exchange places with me, and give me his horse. This 
dangerous place the natives call Kabawjatu, " where- 
the- buffaloes-fall." Only a short time before, a Malay 
was driving a single buffalo to market along this 
way, when he shied a little, went off headlong, and 
was dashed in j)ieces on the rocks beneath. 

A short distance beyond this place we changed 
horses, at a little settlement of the Lubus. Their 
houses are scattered over the mountain-side, and not 
gathered into one place. They are ten or fifteen feet 
long, and eight or ten wide, and perched on high 
poles. The walls are made of bamboo, and the roofs 
are thatched with straw, like all that we have seen 
since leaving Lubu Sikeping, instead of atap, which 
is used by all the natives farther south. The officials 
here informed me that these people eat bananas, and 
probably most fruits, maize, dogs, monkeys, and even 
snalces, but never rice ; and this is the more strange 



420 TKAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

because it is the staj)le article of food among tlieir 
neighbors. Tliey are yet slaves to tlieir rajab, just 
as the peoj)le of ' all tbe tribes in tbis vicinity were 
before tbey were conquered by tbe Dutch, for the 
Lubus, so far as we know, remain as they were in the 
most ancient times. Here I enjoyed a magnificent 
view of the active volcano Seret Merapi, the summit 
of which is five thousand nine hundred feet above the 
sea. It is not a separate mountain like the Merapi 
of the Menangkabau country, but merely a 23eak in 
the Barizan chain. From its top a jet of opaque gas 
rose into the clear, blue sky, while small cumuli came 
up behind the coast-chain from the ocean, and seemed 
to settle on its highest summits, as if weary, and wish- 
ing to rest, before they continued their endless flight 
through the sky. 

When we again came to the bottom of the valley, 
we found what seemed to us a wonder — a smooth, 
well-graded road, bordered on either side with a row 
of beautiful shade-trees. All the low land in this 
vicinity is used for sawas, and the rice, which was 
mostly two-thirds grown, waved most charmingly in 
the light wind, that reminded me of our summer- 
breezes. The inspector, who was an old gentleman, 
felt somewhat worn out with such incessant jolting, 
and, as I had been travelling without stopping for 
eight days, I was only too glad to have one day of 
rest also. 

At sunset, as is always the custom in these tropi- 
cal lands, we took an evening walk. The many fires 
now raging in the tall grass that covers the lower 
flanks of the mountains have so filled the air with 



TWILIGHT AND EVENING. 421 

smoke, tliat wlien the sun had sunk "behind the ser- 
rated crest of the Barizan, the whole horizon for 
twenty degrees and to a considerable height was 
lighted uj) with one unvarying golden glow. Here 
the Barizan is composed of four or five parallel 
ranges, which rise successively one above the other 
until the last forms the highest elevation in that 
chain. These different ranges were of various shades 
of color ; that the nearest to us, or the lowest, being 
the darkest, and those above it of a lighter and 
lighter hue up to the highest range, which had a 
bright border of gold along its crest ; and from that 
line to where we stood the air seemed filled with a 
purple dust. As the daylight faded, the fires in the 
tall grass on the hill-sides became more distinct ; 
sometimes advancing in a broad, continuous band, 
and sometimes breaking up into an irregular, beaded 
line. Soon afterward the moon rose as charmingly 
in the east as the sun just gloriously set in the west. 
First a diffuse light appeared along the mountain- 
tops and whitened the fleecy cumuli hovering over 
their summits. Then that part of the sky grew 
brighter and brighter until the light of the full moon 
fell like a silver cascade over the serrated eclo^e of the 
high mountains and rested on the tops of the hills 
below. An assistant resident is stationed here at 
Fort Elout, who has charge of this fruitful valley of 
Mandeling, which is wholly inhabited by the Battas. 
The territory between this valley and the west coast 
is also inhabited by this rude people. The Resident 
explained to us the trouble taken by the government 
and the expense it was incurring, in order to teach 



422 TRAVELS IN" THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

them to read and write, and cultivate the land. One 
time the older children burned all the books given 
them by the government, suj)posing that, of course 
if they had no books, they would not be required to- 
go to school. Earthquakes are frequent here, and, 
but a short time since, seven shocks occurred in one 
day. All came from the south, exactly from the di- 
rection where the Seret Merapi is seen burning. Most 
of them were accompanied by a noise, which pre- 
ceded the shock long enough for the Resident to re- 
mark to a friend, " there comes another," before the 
shock itself was j)erceived. Here we saw many 
hanging birds'-nests, most ingeniously constructed. 
They were made of fine grass, woven into a mass 
having the form of a pear or gourd, from eight inches 
to a foot long. The smaller part is attached to the 
end of a drooping twig, and on the bottom at one 
side is the opening of a tube about an inch and a 
half in diameter. This rises vertically for four or 
live inches and then curves over and descends like a 
syphon. At the end of the short part of this syphon 
the tube is enlarged to a spherical cavity, and here 
the ingenious bird lays her eggs. In order to ap- 
preciate the remarkable skill required to make the 
nest, it would be necessary for one to see a series of 
them, from those which have been just begun to those 
that are nearly finished, for the tube which is to lead 
to the nest is not formed by blades of grass wound 
into rings or a helix, but is built up from a single direc- 
tion until the two curving sides meet. Among the 
sawas are small artificial pools, where fish are raised 
as in China ; a custom probably introduced by the 



PADANG SIDEMPUAN. 423 

Chinese tliemselves. After these shallow pools have 
been iisecl for this purpose a year or two, the fish 
are taken out, the larger ones sent to market, and 
the smaller ones transferred to another pond. The 
water in the first pool is then drained off, and its 
bottom becomes a fruitful rice-field. In this manner 
the natives allow their land to lie fallow, and at the 
same time make it yield a good crop. 

March Uli. — At 6 a. m., started from Eau for Pa- 
dang Sidempuan, at the northern end of this valley, 
which begins on the south at Marisipongi, where we 
first saw the Battas. All day our route has been in the 
bottom of the valley, at a general elevation of one thou- 
sand feet. Sometimes we passed over gentle undula- 
tions, but usually over one monotonous level area 
covered with tall grass, in which were intersj^ersed 
large clumps of shrubbery. In one village there 
were two most enormous waringin-trees, under which 
the villagers had prepared a rude table. On this 
they had spread young cocoa-nuts, and bananas, ap- 
parently the only kinds of fruit they had to offer. 

As we advanced, the mountains on our right 
dwindled until they formed hills, whose tops were 
only five or six hundred feet above the plateau in 
which we were travelling. Before us rose another 
great transverse ridge, in which towered up the peak 
of Lubu Rajah to a height of over six thousand two 
hundred feet above the sea. It is the highest moun- 
tain in the Batta Lands, as the Dutch call the high 
plateaus of Silindong and Toba which lie north of 
this transverse ridge, and are beyond the limits of the 
territory subject to the government of the Nether- 



424 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

lands India. Soon after we arrived, tlie controleur re- 
ceived a letter from a Batta cMef. It was nothing 
but a piece of young bamboo a couple of incites in 
diameter and about six inches long. On this had 
been scratched, with a blunt needle, characters of 
various shapes, quite intricate, but not having by 
any means the barbarous appearance of those used 
by the Chinese. The object of this letter was to in- 
form the controleur that during a recent rain a bridge 
near the rajah's village had been washed away. Un- 
like the Chinese language, where every character is a 
word, the Batta is an alphabetic language, and one 
of their own invention. As spoken by the various 
branches of this tribe it differs only to the degree of 
dialects, and the language is, therefore, a unit. The 
religion of this people is a belief in evil spirits and 
omens. The place where their aboriginal civilization 
sprang up was probably in the neighboring plateau 
of Silindong and on the borders of Lake Toba. 
Thence they seem to have spread over all the area 
they now occupy in the interior and to the sea-coast 
on either side. In later times the people of Menang- 
kabau, or Malays proper, extended their power along 
the coast and made the Battas an inland people. 

The strangest fact concerning this people, who 
have come to such a state of civilization as to invent 
an alphabet of their own, is, that all of them, be- 
yond the territory under the Dutch Government, are 
Gcmnibals. Those living on this plain also feasted on 
human flesh until the Dutch conquered them, and 
obliged them to give up such a fiendish custom. 
The rajah of Sipirok assured the governor at Padang 



AMONG THE CANNIBALS. 425 

tiat lie liad eaten human flesli between thirty and 
forty times, and that lie had never in all his life 
tasted any thing that he relished half as well. This 
custom has prevailed among the Battas from time 
immemorial. 

From Marco Polo's writings we learn that, as 
early at least as in 1290, they were addicted to their 
present revolting habits. 

Sir Stamford Raffles, who visited Tapanuli Bay 
in 1820, was informed that any one who should be 
convicted of the following five crimes must be cut 
up alive : For adultery ; midnight robbery ; in wars, 
where prisoners were taken ; intermarrying in the 
same tribe ; and for a treacherous attack on any 
house, village, or person. The facts which came to 
my knowledge while in this region, and the state- 
ments of the Dutch officials and of the natives 
themselves, entirely confirm this account of their 
customs and laws, except in regard to that against 
intermarrying. Such are yet the practices of the 
people in this immediate vicinity, and such, not 
many years ago, were those of all the people 
among whom we had been travelling for the last 
four days. 

Here, and at several other places in the interior, 
I have seen young trees of a species of cinnamon, 
Icayib manis^ or " sweet wood " of the Malays. Its 
leaves and bark have a considerable aroma, but it is 
not the true cinnamon of Ceylon, nor that of Cochin 
China nor China. Cinnamons of one or more species 
occur also in Java, Borneo, Luzon, and Magindanao. 
As our carriage needed repairing, and both the in- 



426 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

spector and I were becoming fatigued, we therefore 
rested at this place for a day. 

March 6th. — Started early in the carriage for 
Lumut, in a westerly direction. Our road continued 
to ascend until we reached the water-shed formed by 
the Barizan, and were two thousand five hundred 
feet above the sea. We now passed out of the great 
valley of Mandeling, which is fifty-five miles long in 
a right line, but only from six to ten miles broad. 

The descent from the water-shed toward the sea is 
gradual, but the road is execrable and exceedingly nar- 
row at best, and wholly covered, except a narrow foot- 
path, with tall grass. Besides, our horses had never 
been harnessed to a carriage before, and, after many 
fruitless attempts to guide them, I said to the inspect- 
or that the only way we should be able to proceed 
would be to make the wild natives, who gathered to 
look on, haul us themselves. He replied that that 
would be perfectly impossible, for they respect no 
one but the governor. However, I noticed that they 
recognized our " American " as the one the governor 
had used in travelling that way once before — the only 
time a carriage had ever been seen on the road — and 
jumping out, directed our Malay attendants, who 
could speak their language, to say to them the gov- 
ernor wished us to take the "American " through to Si- 
boga, and every man must helj) us obey his com- 
mand. This chanced to strike them favorably, and 
their rajahs detailed some twenty to haul us as far 
as the next villao:e. I selected three of the tallest 
and fleetest and placed them between the thills, and 
ranged others outside to haul, by means of long rat- 



DESCENT FROM THE BARIZAN. 427 

tans fastened to tlie forward axle, and a suitable pro- 
portion behind to liold back by a rattan secured to 
tlie liind part of tlie carriage as we went down-Hill. 
All being in tlieir places, I jum|)ed into tlie carriage. 
A wild yell was raised, and away we dasbed down a 
gradual descent, as if we were drawn by a race-borse ; 
the road became steeper and steeper, and we flew 
faster and faster; tbose behind bad evidently for- 
gotten wbat was expected of tbem. Tbose in front, 
wbo were outside of tbe tbills, dropped tbe rattan and 
leaped aside for fear of tbe rattling wbeels bebind 
tbem, and tbose in tbe tbills sbouted out all sorts of 
implorings and execrations against tbose bebind, wbo 
seemed to enjoy tbe discomfiture of tbeir fellows too 
mucb to bold bacli at all. When we reacbed tbe 
bottom of tbe long bill, tbe men in tbe tbills were 
tbe only ones near tbe carriage. Tbe otbers were 
scattered at intervals all tbe way down tbe bill, 
but were coming on as fast as tbey could. All 
seemed in tbe best of temper, except tbose in tbe 
tbills, wbo gave a spirited lecture to tbe otbers; 
but at once all formed as before, and took us up 
tbe succeeding bill. Tbe inspector was in constant 
apprehension of some misbap, but I tbougbt we 
miffbt as well be drawn by wild men as wild borses. 
Just before we arrived at eacb village, tbe rajab 
of tbat place met us witb men enough to take us on 
to tbe next kampong, and sometimes we had forty or 
fifty of them drawing us at a time. On the level 
lands they usually took us along at a fast canter, 
shouting, and screaming, and leaping, as if they were 
half mad. 



428 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN AECHIPELAGO. 

At noon we came to tlie famous suspension 
bridge of rattan, of wliicli I liad Ibeen liearing tlie 
most friglitful accounts for tlie last hundred miles. 
At once I took off my shoes to avoid slipping, and 
hastened down the airy, oscillating way, without al- 
lowing myself to look down and become giddy at 
the fearful depth beneath me. At the middle it 
rests on the tops of tall trees, which grow up from a 
small island in the torrent far below. It has been 
constructed by first stretching across three large rat- 
tans. On them narrow strij)S of boards are placed 
transversely, and fastened at each end by strips of 
common rattan. Other rattans, starting from the 
ground at a little distance back of the bank, j)ass 
above the branches of high camphor-trees that grow 
on the edge of the chasm in which the torrent flows. 
Descending from these branches in a sharp curve, 
they rise again steeply at the farther end of the 
bridge. From these rattans vertical lines are fas- 
tened to the rattans below them, exactly as in our 
suspension bridges, and thus all parts are made to 
aid in supj^orting the weight. At each bank the 
bridge is some eight feet wide, but it narrows tow- 
ard the middle until it is only two feet, where it 
vibrates the most. I had been directed to go over, 
if possible, at a hurried walk, and thus break up the 
oscillating motion, and particularly cautioned against 
seizing the side of the bridge, lest it might swing to 
the opposite side and throw me off into the abyss 
beneath. When I had gone half-way across the first 
span I found that one of the cross-boards, on which I 
was just in the act of placing my foot, had become 




SUSPENSION BRIDGE OF RATTAN. 



■ I? A SUSPENSION BRIDGE OF RATTAN. 429 

loose and slipped over to one side, so that, if I liad 
stepped as I liad intended, I slionld have put my 
foot through, if indeed I had not fallen headlong 
and been dashed on the rocks in the torrent more 
than a hundred feet beneath me. I therefore stopped 
instantly, and allowed myself to swing with the 
bridge until it came to a state of rest, and then 
again went on slowly, and safely reached the oppo- 
site bank. My companions, who stood on the bank 
behind me, became greatly alarmed when they saw 
me stop in the midst of the long span, and were sure 
that I had either become giddy, or was frightened, 
and that, in either case, I would grasjD hold of the 
side of the bridge contrary to their express orders. 

The difficulty in crossing this bridge, which is as 
flexible as Manilla rope, is so great, not only because 
it oscillates to the right and left, but because there is a 
vertical motion, and its whole floor, instead of moving 
in one piece, is continually rolling in a series of waves. 
An official, who had taken very careful measurements 
of it in order to make an estimate of the cost of erect- 
ing a true bridge, for this airy way does not deserve 
such a substantial name, gave me the following fig- 
ures : total length, 374 feet ; height of the middle 
and lowest part of the first span above the torrent, 
108 feet ; height of the middle and lowest part of the 
second span, 137.5 feet. The ins23ector then came 
over safely, and we walked a short distance to a 
neighboring village while the natives were taking 
our carriage to pieces and bringing them over one at 
a time. 

Although I am not one of those who allow them- 



430 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

selves to be constantly tortured by presentiments and 
omens, I could not rid myself of an impression tliat 
some accident was going to happen to tliose wlio were 
bringing over the carriage, and went back to see for 
myself wliat they were doing. The wheels and top 
were over, and six natives were bringing the body, 
which, though quite large, was very light. They had 
already crossed the long span, and were coming on 
to the short one. " Is it possible," I said to myself, 
"that such a slight structure can hold such a weight 
at such a great leverage ? We shall soon see, for 
they are rapidly coming to the middle of the second 
span," At the next instant there was a loud, sharp 
crack, like the report of a pistol. One of the large 
rattans that went over the high branches of the 
camphor-trees and supported the sides, had parted at 
one of its joints. The officer who had charge of the 
bridge, and was standing by my side, seized me by the 
shoulder in his frig-ht. As soon as the rattan on one 
side broke, the bridge gave a fearful lurch in the op- 
posite direction, but the natives all knew they must 
keep perfectly quiet and allow themselves to swing, 
and, finally, when it had become still, they came on 
carefully and safely reached the bank. The officer 
and I l}oth believed that the moment one of the rat- 
tans broke, the others, having of course to su23port a 
much greater weight, would also break, and that we 
should hear a few more similar crackings, and see all 
the natives fall headlong down nearly one hundred 
and forty feet into the boiling torrent beneath, which 
is so rapid that only a few days ago a buffalo, that 
was standing in the side of the stream above the 



ORNAMENTS OF GOLD. 43I 

bridge, lost Ms footing and was carried down without 
being able to reacli eitlier bank. 

The carriage was soon put together again, and a 
good number of natives detailed to haul us to the 
next village, and away we dashed along, and that 
fearful place was soon hidden from our view. From 
this point to Lumut our road extended over a hilly, 
undulating country, in which we crossed a number 
of small streams on rafts of bamboo. 

Lumut we found to be only an opziener's station. 
A Malay teacher is also employed here by the govern- 
ment, but the general appearance of the |)eople has 
changed little since they were accustomed to enjoy 
their cannibal feasts, and this is true of all the na- 
tives we have seen this side of Padang Sidempuan. 

Most of the rajahs we have seen to-day have worn 
garments profusely ornamented with gold. The head- 
dress of each usually consisted of a short turban so 
wound around the head that the two ends hung down 
in front, and to these were fastened small, thin pieces 
of gold of a diamond or circular form. They also 
wear short jackets which are usually trimmed with a 
broad band of gold, though a few had silver instead. 
At the waist is worn a belt on which is worn in front 
a large diamond-shaped ornament four or live inches 
long, made of thin gold and ornamented with flowers 
and scrolls. When at Rau, we visited a native who 
Avas famous for his skill in manufacturing such golden 
ornaments. The leaves which he made on them were 
remarkably well-proportioned, and the details very 
correctly wrought in ; and we admired his skill the 
more when he came to show us his tools, which con- 



432 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN AECHIPELAGO. 

sisted of a flat stone for an anvil, a hammer, and two 
or three large, blunt awls. Having beaten tlie gold 
out into thin slieets of the desired form, he made the 
leaves rise in relief by forming a corresponding groove 
on the op|)osite or inner side. In other cases he had 
formed the gold into small wire, which was bent into 
helices for ornaments to be placed on the front of such 
articles as buttons. At Fort de Kock this business 
is carried on so extensively as to form an important 
branch of the internal trade. The metal generally 
used there is silver, the coin imported by the Dutch, 
for we have no reason to suppose that that metal is 
found on this island. They make models of their 
houses, of leaves, flowers, and all the principal fruits, 
which are sent to Padang, where they find a ready 
demand among the foreigners, who send them as pres- 
ents to their friends in Europe. 

"We have just been honored by a call from the 
two rajahs of this little village of Lumut. The bands 
of gold on their jackets were two inches broad — an 
indication that the precious metal must be obtained 
in all this region in very considerable quantities. 
Ever since entering the southern end of the valley 
of Mandeling, I have been re23eatedly informed 
that the natives obtained gold by washing in their 
vicinity. At Fort Elout the "Resident showed 
me a nugget, as large as a pigeon's egg, which a na- 
tive had just found in a neighboring stream where 
they had certainly been at work for centuries. 
Washing seems to be almost the only mode adojDted 
by the natives for obtaining gold, and I heard of only 
one place where they have ever attempted to take it 



THE CAMPHOR-TREE. 4.33 

from the rock. That place is in the mountains west 
of Kau. 

McLTcli *ltli. — Early this morning continued on 
for Siboga, with the satisfactory feeling that this day 
would be the last of our long and difficult journey. 
The road for ten miles led through a deep forest of 
gigantic camphor-trees, Dryohalanops campliora, the 
tall, straight trunks of which rose up like lofty col- 
umns. From their high branches hung down hun- 
dreds of the cord-like roots of a parasite. The " cam- 
j)hor-oil " is obtained from these trees by making a 
small cavity in the trunk near the ground, and the 
fluid dripping into this cavity is the " oil." After 
a tree has been dead for a long time, it is cut 
down and S23lit up, and layers of pure camphor are 
found crystallized in thin plates in the fissures, where 
the wood in dying has slightly split open. This is 
known as " camphor barus," from Barns, a village on 
the coast a short distance to the north, because such 
crystallized camphor was formerly exported from that 
place. The Chinese and Japanese, who suppose it 
possesses the most extravagant healing properties, 
pay enormous prices for it, while, except that it is 
somewhat purer, it is probably not any better than 
that they make themselves by distillation from the 
wood of the Cinnamon campliora. The camphor- 
tree is not only valuable for the camphor it yields, 
but also for its timber, which is very straight and 
free from knots and other imperfections. This is a 
favorite region for tigers, and I have seen one or 
more skins at the house of each official. A short 
time since, an elephant came down here from the in- 

28 



434 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

terior, but tlie natives failed to secure so valuable a 
prize. Herds of tliem are said to frequently appear 
in the Silindong plateau. The tusts of one taken 
here lately were sold for one thousand guilders (four 
hundred Mexican dollars). On our way we passed 
eight or ten houses of Battas, who had come down 
from the mountains. They were placed on posts 
like those we have been seeing ; but the gable-ends, 
instead of being perpendicular, slant outward, so that 
the ridge-pole, which comes up high at each end, is 
much longer than the floor. Over a number of these 
streams we found long suspension bridges, but none 
were high as that over the Batang Taroh. Ascend- 
ing to the crest of a mountain-range, some six or 
eight hundred feet in height, we found before us a 
grand view of the high mountains, stretching in a 
semicircle around the bay of Tapanuli ; of the low 
land at their feet, and of a j)art of the bay itself A 
steep, zigzag way took us down nearly to the level 
of the sea, and led us over the low land to the vil- 
lage of Siboga, a small Dutch settlement and mili- 
tary station at the head of the bay. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



RETUEN TO PADANG. 



Back of Siboga rises a high peak, and from its 
summit I was confident tliat I could enjoy a magnifi- 
cent view over tlie wliole bay. A native engaged to 
sliow me the way to its top, but after we liad trav- 
elled a long distance I found lie had even less idea of 
liow we were to reacli the desired spot tlian I liad 
myself Other natives gave me du^ections, but that 
day was too far spent for such a journey, and I there- 
fore made my pretended guide travel with me the 
next day for nothing, as a punishment for his lying. 
Following up a stream back of the settlement, we 
took a minor valley to the south, and discovered a 
narrow path by which the Battas sometimes come 
dov^Ti from the interior. This led up through a thick 
forest to a large place where that people had par- 
tially cleared the land by burning down the trees. In 
the irregular spaces between the stumps they had 
planted pineapples and yams, which were both thriv- 
ing remarkably well. When we had gained that 
j)lace I found the desired peak still above us. My 
attendant now begged me not to attempt to reach it, 
less, as I afterward learned, from his fear of the 
Battas than from his fear of the evil spirit who is 



436 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

said to inliabit tliat high, point, and wtom lie be- 
lieved we should certainly meet. But we gained tlie 
summit without, meeting any unearthly intruders. 
There I found the whole bay and its shores spread 
out before me like a map. The broad coral banks 
bordering several of the points and islands were of a 
light-clay color in the dark-blue water, which was 
only here and there ruffled by the light morning 
breezes then moving over its limpid surface. This 
bay is said to closely resemble the bay of E,io Janeiro 
by those who have seen both. To the north it has a 
long arm, but on the south its boundary is sharply 
defined when viewed from the lofty point where I 
stood, while off the mouth of the bay was the high 
island of Mensalla, its hills making a sharply-ser- 
rated line against the sky. 

On another occasion I made an excursion in a 
boat some six miles toward the northern end of the 
bay to look at some layers of coal. Leaving the 
boat we went a short distance up the side of a range 
of hills on the northwest side of the bay, and, crossing 
two small ridges that ran clown to the shore, found 
the bed of a brook, which at that season was dry. 
In one of its sides were seen the layers of coal, ap- 
proximately parallel to the surface of the hills, and 
resting on clay schists, to which they appeared per- 
fectly conformable. Crossing another low ridge, we 
came down into the bed of another brook, where the 
same strata were again seen. The coal here is very 
impure, except near the middle layers, and appears 
to be of little commercial value ; neither is the pros- 
pect flattering for finding other strata of a better qual- 



THE DEVIL'S DWELLING. 43^ 

ity "beneatli those seen at tlie surface. Althougli 
1 looked carefully, I could detect no leaves or stems 
of plants, or any organic remains, by wliicli tlie geo- 
logical age of this coal could be determined ; but ttie 
position of tlie layers parallel to tlie surface, or last 
folding the strata have undergone, agrees with its 
mineral characters in placing it, like the other coals 
of Sumatra, in the tertiary period. 

As I came to Siboga from the south, over the low 
land around the bay, I noticed on my right a high, 
perpendicular cliff composed of recent strata that* 
were horizontal, and which must have been deposited 
beneath the ocean, because the opposite side of the 
valley is open to the sea, with only hills at intervals 
along its shore, and even their forms indicate that 
they are of the same sedimentary origin. This cliff 
the natives call in Malay the JRuma Satan, or " the 
Devil's Dwelling." It was on the western declivity 
of the mountains which sweep round parallel to the 
shore. The Resident gave orders to the rajah of Si- 
buluan, a native village about four miles south of 
Siboga, to go with me and show me the way. When 
I came to that callage I found the rajah was a young 
man, and evidently afraid of such an undertaking. 
In the first place, we must be exposed to the cannibal 
Battas, and even travel among them ; but I assured 
him that that, so far from making me desire to turn 
back, only made me the more anxious to go on, 
for I liked to see all kinds of people, and I had no 
fear that the Battas would eat me. Finding he 
could not induce me to give up what he evidently 
considered a most venturesome journey, he summoned 



438 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

tlie largest man in liis hampong and armed liim with 
a long, rusty sword. Several others were also ordered 
to accompany us, though the rajah seemed to rely 
chiefly on the brave who carried his arms. As for 
me, the only weapon with which I was provided was 
a pocket-knife, but I think now that I underrated the 
danger then, and that if I were going on the same ex- 
cursion again I should take a revolver at least. From 
Subuluan our course was along a large stream. Soon 
we came to a Batta village, where a capala and two 
'men joined us, to act as our guides and also to in- 
crease my body-guard, which, even then, would have 
been far from formidable if any real danger had pre- 
sented itself, and they had had a good opportunity 
to run away. The rough path that we were follow- 
ing came to a stream which I was compelled to wade, 
and found so deep that it rose to my arms. Besides, 
the current was so strong that I was glad to have the 
assistance of a native on either side. The sand and 
sharp gravel were thus washed into my shoes ; and as 
I learned we should have to cross that stream some 
ten times, for such a road do these wild cannibals 
use, I quickly prepared myself to go barefoot. 

We had now come into a deep gorge ; the sun 
poured down his most scorching rays ; the rocks and 
sand were so hot that it seemed they would blister 
my feet, and even the Malays complained. The next 
ford was just above a series of rapids. I was clad in 
a suit of blue flannel, which absorbed so much water 
that I found I was in great danger of being swept 
away by the torrent. I concluded that I had better 
adopt the costume of the Malays. The rajah wore 



DANGEROUS FORDING. 439 

a new pair of cliilanas^ of tlie prevailing pattern, 
made in Acliin. Tliey are sliort-legged trousers, fast- 
ened at tlie waist and reacliing nearly to tlie knee. I 
proposed tliat we exchange, but he declined to do 
that, and insisted on my keeping possession of my 
own habit, and using the article I desired, and in 
that costume I travelled till I came back to his 
village. In one place the torrent rolled up against a 
high precipice, but there chanced to be a horizontal 
crevice some distance above the water, and there, 
where scarcely a monkey would think of venturing, 
we were obliged to crawl along as bes^t we could. 
This danger passed, we had to cross back and forth 
over rapids by leaping from rock to rock, some of 
which were above and some just beneath the surface 
of the boiling torrent. Then we came to an area of 
high grass. The tall native, in accordance with the 
rajah's orders, marching ahead with the sword 
grasj)®^^ i^ l^i^ right hand, and its naked, rusty blade 
resting on his bare arm, was, indeed, the personi- 
fication of bravery ; but, as I had little faith in the 
necessity of such a doughty warrior, I began to ridi- 
cule his appearance to the rajah, when suddenly our 
brave gave an ugly nasal grunt, and, brandishing his 
sword high over his head, brought it down with a 
heavy cutting stroke on some object in front of him. 
" What is the matter ? " every one asked. " A great 
snake was crossing the road ! " an agreeable thing to 
hear, considering that I had no clothing, on below 
the knee ; but, while he was flourishing his weapon 
and getting ready to strike, the reptile had glided 
away in the tall grass. 



440 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

The raj all now sliowed me a spot by tlie wayside 
where a Batta, who had been guilty of adultery, 
had been killed and eaten by his fellows not long 
before. All the others in the party confirmed the 
story in every particular. A little farther on was a 
Batta village consisting of four houses on high posts. 
One was small and stood, apart from the others, and 
in that they stored their rice. To prevent the mice 
from reaching it, large projecting pieces of planks 
were placed on the tops of the posts. The walls, 
floor, and gable-ends of the dwelling-houses were 
made of plank, and the roof was a thatching of grass 
or straw. Having some curiosity to see the internal 
arrangements of a Batta house, I climbed up a ladder 
of five or six rounds at one end of the building, and 
took a place assigned me on the floor. There was no 
bench nor stool, nor any thing of the kind, so, ac- 
cording to Batta etiquette, I rested my back against 
the side of the house. The whole building was in 
one room, without a shadow of any j)artition. From 
the number of the inmates, I saw that probably four 
families dwelt in this single apartment, and this sus- 
picion was strengthened when I noticed a rude fire- 
place, without any chimney, in each corner. On 
inquiry, I was informed that my conjectures were 
true. " But how do you know," I asked, " what 
part belongs to one family and what to another? 
Where is your partition ? " One of them, who could 
understand a little Malay, gravely rose, and, coming 
to my side in answer to my query, pointed to a crack 
in the floor. 

From this place the rajah had said I could obtain 



AMONG THE BATTAS. 44I 

an unobstructed view of tlie cliff, but wlien we ar- 
rived tliere a neigliboring liill completely hid it from 
view. He then excused himself by saying that he 
had never been there before ; and, when I informed 
him that I must go on until I could see it perfectly, 
the tears actually stood in his eyes from fear, he was 
so certain we should meet with the Evil Spirit. One 
of the Battas, who knew the way, offered to be my 
guide, and I released the rajah from the Kesident's 
order to accompany me as far as I wished to go, and 
continued on, for I had no fear of meeting Apollyon 
in the next valley. 

Two sections at right angles showed that the 
strata of this cliff were nearly horizontal, and com- 
posed of a light-colored clay, containing many coarse 
crystals of quartz. These materials had recently 
been formed by the decomposition of the adjoining 
syenitic rocks, and had been arranged into layers by 
the action of water. The height to the top of the 
cliff from the bed of the brook I judge to be eight 
hundred feet, and that is at least fifty feet above the 
level of the sea, making the whole elevation which 
this part of the island has recently undergone to be 
eight hundred and fifty feet. 

When we returned to the Batta village, the rajah 
seemed greatly relieved, for he declared that he 
believed he should never see us again. Such are 
the superstitious terrors that constantly torture the 
imaginations of these ignorant people. On our re- 
turn, a heavy rain set in, which completely drenched 
us and swelled the brook. Again and again the 
strong current came near sweeping us off the slippery 



442 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

rocks, wliile tlie ligMning ilaslied in broad sheets and 
tlie tliunders eclioed and reeclioed in tlie deep ravine. 
Tlie Malays wlio formed my guard tlien began to 
discuss in an undertone, without thinking that I over- 
heard them, whether the Evil Spirit would not, after 
all, bring some dreadful misfortune on the white 
gentleman for daring to visit his abode. One sug- 
gested that the Battas might yet capture him on one 
of his dangerous excursions. Another said he would 
probably have an attack of fever (which I confess I 
myself considered probable), for after such exposure 
to the hot sun, and such a drenching, any man, even 
a native, is likely to find a keen burning in his veins 
the next morning. The rajah, however, replied to 
these unfavorable suggestions, that Tuan Allah would 
take pity on him, and not allow even the rain to 
harm him, for he was a good man, and it could not 
be very wicked in any one simply to go and see 
where the Evil Spirit lived. My feet and ankles had 
become so bruised from treading on the rough rocks 
in the bed of the torrent, and so cut from walking 
through the tall grass, that as soon as I reached my 
room I went to bed, and did not rise for thirty 
hours ; but the rajah's predictions proved true, and 
I escaped without even an attack of fever. 

A few days afterward, a rajah came from his vil- 
lage on the coast near Barus, or Barros, a small port 
about thirty miles toward Achin. He said that 
some neighboring Battas had taken two of his men, 
and had ah'eady eate7i one of them, and were keeping 
the other to eat him also, and that he came to Siboga 
to ask the Besident that soldiers be sent to compel 



MISSIONARIES AND THEIR BRIDES. 4,4-3 

those cannibals to deliver up tlieir intended victim. 
Such a request, of course, it was not possible for the 
Resident to grant, however much he might wish to 
do so, for the whole country is ' extremely mountain- 
ous, and covered with a dense, impenetrable forest ; 
and the moment these Battas have finished their at- 
tack, they instantly retreat into the interior without 
allowing the Dutch the possibility of punishing 
them, except by subjugating the entire country, and 
that would be a work of the greatest difficulty, and 
one that would require much time, and money, and 
bring no adequate recomj)ense. It is such a common 
thing for the foreigners here at Siboga to hear that 
one or more natives have been eaten in the neigh- 
boring mountains, that no one thinks of speaking of 
it as any thing strange or even incredible. In the 
Silindong valley two missionaries have been living 
for some time, trying to educate and convert the 
Battas. I met one of them with his bride at the 
governor's residence when I arrived at Padang. The 
lady had arrived but a short time before from Hol- 
land, and they were just then starting on their wed- 
ding tour to their future residence among the canni- 
bals. The other missionary is now at this village, 
and I have just been present at his wedding. His 
wife is a young lady of not more than seventeen 
summers, and what is stranger than all in both of 
these matches is, that neither of these gentlemen 
had seen his betrothed before she arrived, excej)t in 
a miniature, which of course might or might not be 
a good likeness. It may relieve the curious for me 
to state that all parties are entirely satisfied. 



4:44 . TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

This missionary tells me tliat lie knew of a Batta 
wlio liad been guilty of stealing an article of only 
very little value according to tlieir ideas of wealth, 
yet lie was seized, Ms arms extended at full length 
and fastened to a bamboo, a sharpened prop placed 
under his chin, so that he could not move his head, 
and in this condition he was boimd fast to a tree. 
The knife was then handed to the native who had 
lost the article, and he was ordered to step forward 
and cut out of the living man what piece he pre- 
ferred. This he did promptly; the rajah took the 
second choice, and then the people finished the cold- 
blooded butchery, and thus their victim died. This 
revolting feast, he assures me, took place but a short 
distance from the village where he resides. How 
any lady can think of going to live among such dan- 
gers I cannot conceive ; but Madame Pfeiffer, accord- 
ing to her account, went considerably farther than 
the place where these missionaries reside, and even 
reached the northern end of the Silindong valley ; 
but I am assured here, and she states nearly the 
same thing in her book, that the Battas only per- 
mitted her to return because they regarded her as a 
witch. Three years after she performed that jour- 
ney, three French priests were butchered and de- 
voured, before they had come near to the farthest 
place she had reached alone. No Malay would have 
ever escaped who had gone so far into their country. 

The parts that are esteemed the greatest deli- 
cacies are the palms of the hands, and, after them, 
the eyes. As soon as a |)iece is cut out it is dij)ped, 
still warm and steaming, in sambal, a common con- 




A NATIVE OF THE ISLAND OF NIAS. 
p^ 445^ From a photog^raph. 



THE FEASTS OF THE CANNIBALS. 445 

diment, composed of red or Chili peppers and a few 
grains of coarse salt, ground up between two flat 
stones. Formerly it a|)i)ears to liave been the cus- 
tom to broil the human flesh, for Mr, Marsden states 
that, in December, 1780, a native of Mas, who 
stabbed a Batta at Batang Taroh, the river I 
crossed on the suspension bridge, was seized at 
six one morning, and, without any judicial process, 
was tied to a stake, cut in pieces with the utmost 
eagerness while yet alive, and eaten upon the spot, 
partly broiled, but mostly raw. 

It is probably on account of the difiiculty of 
penetrating their inland and elevated country, and 
from the natural ferocity of these people, that the 
Mohammedan priests of the neighboring country of 
Menangkabau have failed to induce the Battas to 
adopt their religion. The first white men who went 
up far into the interior appear to have been Mr. 
Ward and Mr. Burton, two English missionaries, 
about the year 1820. 

They started from this place, and reached the 
Silindong valley. Their object was to reach Lake 
Toba, but they were only obliged to return on ac- 
count of their becoming seriously ill. The kindly 
manner in which they were treated is very different 
from the reception all other white men have re- 
ceived at the hands of these cannibals. 

It appears that the next white men who went u]3 
into the interior of this country were two American 
missionaries, Henry Lyman and Samuel Munson, 
graduates of Amherst College, and natives of Massa- 
chusetts. In 1835 they sailed from Batavia to Pa- 



44:6 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

dang, an,d thence came directly up tlie coast to tlie 
Batu Islands, Pulo Nias, and this Lay. From this 
village they went up into the interior toward Lake 
Toba, and when about fifty miles distant they were^ 
attacked and killed by the Battas. 

Considering the friendly reception given the for- 
mer missionaries, I do not think this journey prom- 
ised such an unhappy issue. 

The Battas certainly do not eat human flesh for 
lack of food, nor wholly to satisfy revenge, but 
chiefly to gratify their appetites. The governor at 
Padang informed me that these people gave him 
this odd origin of their cannibal customs : Many 
years ago one of their rajahs committed a great 
crime, and it was evident to all that, exalted as he 
was, he ought to be punished, but no one would 
take upon himself the responsibility to j)UMsh a 
prince. After much consultation they at last hit 
upon the happy idea that he should be put to 
death, but they would all eat a piece of his body, 
and in this way all would share in 23unishing him. 
During this feast each one, to his astonishment, found 
the portion assigned him a most ]3alatable morsel, 
and they all agreed that whenever another convict 
was to be j)ut to death they would allow themselves 
to gratify their appetites again in the same manner, 
and thus arose the custom which has been handed 
down from one generation to another till the present 
day. 

For many years after the discovery of a passage 
to the East by sea, j)epper formed the principal 
article of trade, and even Vasco de Grama, who made 



THE PEPPER TRADE. 447 

tHs great discovery, a23pears not to liave been satis- 
fied witli tlie results and prospects of his voyage 
until he liad fully loaded his ships with it. At that 
time it was worth about seventy-five cents per pound 
in Europe. For a century afterward, so completely 
was this trade monopolized by the Portuguese and 
Dutch Governments, that it constantly commanded 
even a higher price. Except salt, perhaps no other 
condiment is so universally used ; and yet the 
natives, who cultivate it for the rest of the world, 
never use it themselves, just as we have already seen 
is the case with those Malays who raise cloves and 
nutmeg and mace. 

• It was used by the Eomans more than two thou- 
sand years ago ; and Pliny is surprised that people 
should go all the way to India to obtain a condiment 
that had nothing to recommend it but its pungency 
(amaritudo). 

In the early part of this century a very consider- 
able trade in pepper was carried on by American 
vessels, chiefly from Boston and Salem, with this 
island, especially between this place and Achin, a 
region generally known to our sailors as " The 
Pepper Coast." Serious troubles often arose be- 
tween their crews and the natives, and in 1830 
nearly all the officers and crew of the shij) Friend- 
ship, of Salem, were overpowered and murdered but 
a. little farther north. 

The region where the pepper- vine is now most- 
ly cultivated is south of Palembang, on the banks 
of the river Ogan. In the archipelago it does 
not grow wild, and is only cultivated on Sumatra 



448 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

and a few of tlie Philippines. Its Javanese name, 
mariclia^ is pure Sanscrit, and tliis as well as its 
distribution indicates tliat it was introduced from 
India. 

Here, at Tapanuli, are many natives of Acliin, 
and their darker color and greater stature at once 
mark them as another people, and indicate that they 
are the descendants of natives of India and Malays, 
and this is completely in accordance with what we 
know of their history. The village of Achin is situ- 
ated at the northwestern extremity of the island, 
on a small river two miles from where it empties 
into a bay, which is well sheltered by islands from 
the wind and sea in all seasons. On account of its 
good roadstead, and its being the nearest point to 
India in the whole archipelago, Achin appears to 
have been, for ages before the arrival of Europeans, 
the great mart for the Telinga traders from the east- 
ern shores of the southern part of India. 

There they brought cotton fabrics, salt, and 
opium, and obtained in exchange tin, gold, pepper, 
cloves, nutmegs, mace, betel-nuts, sulj)hur, camphor, 
and benzoin. When the Portuguese first arrived, in 
1509, under Sequiera, at the neighboring city of 
Pedir, Achin was tributary to that city, but in 1521 
an energetic prince came to the throne; in eigh- 
teen years he had conquered all the neighboring 
kingdoms, and his city became the great commercial 
emporium for all the western ]3art of the archipelago. 
This prosperity it continued to enjoy for a hundred- 
and fifty years. Its fame even reached Europe, and 
the proudest sovereigns were anxious to obtain the 




NATIVE OF B I LUC HIST AN. 



From a photograph. 



THE ENGLISH APPEAR IN THE EAST. 449 

favor of tlie King of Achin, and make commercial 
treaties witli liim. 

Here the Englisli first appeared, in 1602, under 
Sir James Lancaster, wlio commanded a squadron of 
four ships, and was furnislied with a letter from 
Queen Elizabeth'"'' to the king, who had been a 
fisherman, and had only obtained the throne by 
murdering the prince who would have lawfully in- 

* Queen Elizabeth's letter is as follows: "We foi* them" (the East 
India Company) " do promise, that in no time hereafter yon shall have 
canse to repent thereof, but rather to rejoice much, for their dealing 
shall, be true and their conversation sure, and we hope that they will 
give such good proof thereof that this beginning shall be a perpetual 
confirmation . of love betwixt our subjects in both parts, by carrying 
from ns such things and merchandise as you have need of there. So 
that your highness shall be very well served, and better contented, than 
you have heretofore been with the Portugals and Spaniards, om* ene- 
mies, Avho only and none else of these regions have frequented those 
your and the other kingdoms of the East, not sufi'ering that the other 
natives should do it, pretending themselves to be monarchs and absolute 
lords of all those kingdoms and provinces, as their own conquest and 
inheritance, as appears by their lofty titles in their writings. The con- 
trary whereof hath very lately appeared unto us. That your highness, 
and your royal family, fathers and grandfathers, have, by the grace of 
God, and their valor, known, not only to defend your own kingdoms, 
but also to give war unto the Portugals in the land which they possess, 
as namely : in Malacca, in the year of human redemption, 1575, under 
the conduct of your valliant Captain Eagamacota {Rajah malcivta) with 
their great loss and the perpetual honor of your highness' crown and 
kingdom. And now, if your highness shall be pleased to accept unto 
your favor and grace and under your royal protection and defence, these 
our subjects, that they may freely do their business now and continue 
yearly hereafter, this bearer, who goeth chief of the fleet of four ships, 
hath order, with your highness' license, to leave certain factors with a 
settled house or factory in your kingdom, until the going thither of another 
fleet, which shall go thither on the return of this— which left factors 
shall learn the language and customs of your subjects, whereby the bet- 
ter and more lovingly to converse with them." 
29 



450 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

Merited it. Sucli was tlie humble appearance of the 
English in the East two centuries and a half ago. 

Little probably could even the far-seeing queen 
herself have imagined that one of her successors 
should reign over the hundred and fifty millions of 
Hindustan ; that her Eastern merchants would soon 
give up the trade in pepper with Sumatra, and in 
sjDices with the Moluccas, for the far more lucrative 
commerce in silks and teas with China, and espe- 
cially that to the then unexplored continent of Aus- 
tralia citizens of her own kingdom would migrate, 
and there lay the foundation of the most enterpris- 
ing, flourishing, and, what promises to be within the 
next century, the greatest power in all the East. 

When we started from Padang it was planned 
that .a man-of-war should come to Siboga and take us 
back ; but we have been obliged to wait here ten days, 
and now she has come only to take the Resident, and 
go to Singkel, the farthest point up the coast held by 
the Dutch. 

The captain of the steamer on which I came from 
Surabaya to Batavia, however, has chanced to arrive 
in a little prau, in which he has been visiting several 
places along the coast for the purpose of ascertaining 
the facilities for obtaining timber to be used in con- 
structing some government buildings at Padang. 
He is now on the point of sailing to the Batu Islands 
and thence to Padang, and proposes that I share the 
dangers of such a voyage in his little boat, an offer 
which I gladly accept, but Mr. Terville, the inspector, 
prefers to wait for the return of the steamship. Our 
boat is about thirty feet long by eight broad, and in- 



STRUCK BY A HEAVY SQUALL. 45j 

stead of being covered by a flat deck, lias a steep roof, 
wliicli descends on either side to tlie railing like tke 
Javanese junks. Aft, wbere tke tiller sv^eeps round, 
the deck is Horizontal, but, as the stern is nearly as 
sliarply-pointed as tke bow, there is little room to 
sit. We have one mast, witli a large, tattered main- 
sail and two jibs. 

At midnight there was a little breeze from the 
land and we weighed anchor and stood to sea. In 
the morning we found ourselves becalmed about five 
miles from Tunkus Nasi, a sharp, conical island, 
which forms the southern extremity of Tapanuli Bay. 
Somewhat more to the west was the high plateau-like 
island of Mensalla. On its northwestern shore there 
is a waterfall, where the water leaps down some two 
hundred feet directly into the sea. It is so high that 
when I was at Siboga, people who have been at 
Barus assured me they have been able to see it when 
the sun shone on it, though the distance is some six- 
teen miles. At sunset we were so far down the coast 
that it was time for us to change our course to the 
south if we would visit the Batu Islands. 

Our Malay captain was anxious that we should 
keep on our course to Padang ; my friend said he cared 
very little to go to those islands, and when I looked 
at the ragged mainsail and realized that it would prob- 
ably disappear in a moment if a heavy squall chanced 
to strike us, I gave my vote to continue on near the 
shore. Besides, the sky looked threatening, and we 
were evidently in a miserable vessel to live out a fresh 
gale and a heavy sea. Near midnight I was aroused 
by our boat pitching and rolling heavily, and the cap- 



452 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

tain shouting out to his Malay crew all sorts of or- 
ders in rapid succession. Soon lie came down to in- 
form us, in tlie most trembling tones, it was so dark 
tliat it was not possible to see any tiling, and in a 
few moments we should all Ibe drowned. I hurried 
on deck, more from a habit of always wishing to see 
what is going to happen, than from fear.. A thick, 
black mass of clouds was rolling up from seaward 
and spreading over the sky with alarming rapidity. 
The mainsail was taken in and only the main-jib was 
set, when the first gust struck us. Immediately, as 
if rolled over by a gigantic hand, our boat careened 
until her lee-rail was completely under water, and I 
thought, for a moment, she would certainly capsize. 
The main-jib burst into ribbons, and at last we 
righted. The flying-jib was then set, when she came 
near upsetting again. We were then only about a 
mile from the land, and the wind was directly on 
shore, so that it was impossible to save ourselves by 
running before it. Nothing could be done to keep 
off the rocks excepting to heave-to and trust to our 
anchor. All the cable possible was paid out, and yet 
the tempest continued to drive us toward the land. 
Another gust came, and as the lightning flashed I 
could see that we were not half a mile from a high 
island with precipitous shores, encircled by a coral 
reef, where the heavy swell rolling directly in from 
the ocean was breaking apparently twelve or fifteen 
feet high. I knew that at the rate we were drifting 
we must strike on it in fifteen minutes, and that to a 
certainty our frail boat would be broken into frag- 
ments in an instant. There was no possibility of es- 



AYAR BANGIS AND NATAL. 



453 



cape, for the most expert swimmer could not possibly 
have saved himself in such a frightful surf. I coolly 
concluded that that would be the last of my dan- 
gers and resigned myself to my fate. Soon, however, 
the horizon became somewhat clearer, and, better 
than all, our anchor had evidently struck into good 
holding-ground and was keeping us from drifting. 
In an hour more the tempest was over, though the 
heavy swell continued to roll in as before. In the 
morning we found ourselves not far from Ayar Ban- 
gis, and put in there while our crew mended the 
sails. This is the port to which the coffee raised in 
the valley of Kau, in the interior, is brought down, to 
be hence shipped in praus to Padang, where it is 
placed in the government storehouse and sold at auc- 
tion four times a year, viz., in March, June, Sej)tem- 
ber, and December. Natal, about twenty-five miles 
north of here, is the chief port to which is brought 
the valuable coffee raised in the fertile valley of Man- 
deling, of which Fort Elout is the capital. All this 
part of Sumatra abounds in very valuable timber, 
and the Eesident here showed us some magnificent 
logs which his natives are sawing into planks. If 
we had such timber in our country we would use it 
for the nicest kinds of veneering. 

As the' storm continued, we remained for a day 
among the islands off Ayar Bangis. They are mostly 
low, and nearly all com23osed of coral rock. The 
natives live on fish and the cocoa-nuts which they 
raise in great numbers on these low coral islands. 

The chief value of the cocoa-nuts here, as in the 
eastern part of the archipelago, is for the oil they 



454: TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

yield ; considerable quantities of tliat article are 
bronght to Padang from these, tlie Batu and other 
islands off this part of Sumatra. 

At sunset, next day, we were near Pasaman, a 
small place on the coast, west of the lofty peak of 
Ophir. Thousands of small, fleecy cumuli at that 
time covered the sky, and, as the sun neared the 
liorizon, all these clouds were changed into the 
brightest gold. Indeed, the whole sky seemed liter- 
ally paved with small blocks of gold, most of which 
were bordered with a narrow margin of purple. One 
end of this great arch seemed to rest on the distant 
horizon, the other on the crests of the lofty moun- 
tains east of us, but especially on the top of Mount 
Ophir, whose western side was lighted up with tints 
of gold and purple of surpassing richness. 

All this glorious display in the heavens was so 
perfectly repeated, even to the minutest details, on 
the calm sea, that it was difficult to tell which to 
admire more, the sky or the ocean. Of all the rich 
sunsets I enjoyed while in the tropical East, this was 
by far the most magnificent, and never did I ima- 
gine it was possible for any one, while here on earth, 
to behold a scene that would so nearly approach the 
splendor of the Celestial City, described in the aj)oc- 
alyptic vision as being " of pure gold, like unto 
clear glass." 

The next morning we were near Tiku, a village 
at the mouth of the small stream that flows out 
from the lake in the bottom of the great crater of 
Manindyu. The circular mountain ■ range which 
forms the walls of this great crater was clearly 



THE KING'S BIRTHDAY. 455 

seen, and tlie deep rent througli it, by wMcIl tlie 
waters collected in tlie bottom of the crater find a 
passage out to the sea. Twenty miles south of Tiku 
is Priaman, the place to which most of the coffee from 
the Menanghabau, or, as the Dutch prefer to call it, 
the Padang plateau, is brought to be sent in praus to 
Padang. On the evening of the fifth day the Apen- 
burg, on Ape Hill, which marks the approach to Pa- 
dang, and the shipping in the road, near by, were in 
full view. One large and very fine ship was flying 
the American ensign. In a few hours more I found 
myself again in the palace of the governor, and thus 
the expedition through the land of cannibals was 
safely over. 

The American ship was owned by one of the 
largest and most enterprising firms in Boston. Hei 
captain and his lady were on shore, and I soon 
hurried to their boarding-place; and, at once, we 
almost felt ourselves back in New England, and for- 
got that we were far from America, in a land of 
palms, and of one long, endless summer. 

The chief article exported from this place to the 
United States is coffee. It is a very variable crop. 
During the last nine years it has varied in quantity 
from six thousand ]3iculs (eight hundred thousand 
pounds) in 1857, to seventy-two thousand piculs 
(nine million six hundred thousand pounds) in 
1858.'- 

The king's birthday — the great national holi- 
day with the Dutch — now occurred. In the morn- 

* For a detailed list of the quantities exported eacTi year, and the 
average price, see Appendix D. 



456 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

ing tliere was a grand parade on tlie lawn, in front 
of tlie governor's |)alace, of all tlie European and 
native troops, nnnibering in all some four or five 
thousand, but many others are stationed in small 
bodies at various places in the interior. They were 
organized in battalions on the French plan, and their 
appearance and manoeuvring were very creditable. 
There was a small mounted force, much like our 
flying artillery. This, I was informed, proved to be 
one of the most efficient parts of the army in their 
contests with the natives — the paths in the interior 
always being so narrow and so extremely uneven 
that only very light cannon can be brought into use. 
After the parade the governor, as the representative 
of the hing, received the congratulations of all the 
officials in that region. The day ended with a grand 
ball, to which, I may add, the mestizo belles were 
not only invited, but came, and took as prominent 
a part as the ladies who had the envied fortune to 
be born in Europe. At every little post the highest 
official receives the congratulations of his brother- 
officers in similar manner, and all are required to 
appear in full dress with cocked hats. 

After having served in our own gigantic war, 
where a sash, a pair of small shoulder-straps, a few 
bright buttons, and a gold cord round a slouched 
hat, were sufficient to indicate the rank of even a 
major-general, I was quite dazzled by the brilliant 
uniforms of even the most petty officials in the 
Dutch service. The army officers wear epaulets, and 
broad bands of gold lace on the pantaloons, collars, 
and cuffs. The backs of their coats are figured 



MALAY IDEAS OF GREATNESS. 457 

over in the most extravagant fasMon. The civil offi- 
cers present a similar gaudy display in silver. The 
object of all this is to impress the natives with a high 
idea of the wealth and power of the Dutch Govern- 
ment, and of the great dignity of those who are 
honored by being selected to administer it ; and 
exactly these ideas are conveyed to the minds of the 
natives by such displays. Their own rajahs and 
princes never appear in |)ublic without making the 
most dazzling show possible ; and. the mass of the 
people, therefore, have come to think that their rulers 
must be weak and poor, and even more worthy of 
their contempt than their respect, if they do not 
make a most imposing appearance on all great 
occasions. 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE PADANG PLATEAU. 

As I liad seen only a small portion of tlie Pa- 
dcmgscJie Jjovenlcmden, or Padang plateau, I again 
set 'off for tlie interior, following tlie same route tliat 
I liad taken before, namely, north, over low lands 
to the left of tlie Barizan chain. As the governor's 
" American " had not arrived from Saboga, he kindly 
borrowed for me a " bendy," that is, a small, heavy, 
two- wheeled chaise. He gave me an order allowing 
me to use two horses if I pleased ; and, by the time 
I had travelled twenty miles, I was glad to avail my- 
self of the privilege. A bamboo was fastened across 
the thills and allowed to project four or five feet on 
one side, and the additional horse was then placed 
beside the other, the usual mode of driving tandem 
in this country. To complete the odd style of har- 
nessing these half-tamed steeds, the natives arranged 
the reins so that I was obliged to hold two in the 
left hand and but one in the right. The result was, 
that the outer horse was as loose as those harnessed 
in a similar manner in Russia, and altogether be- 
yond my control. Whenever we came to a slight 
descent, he would always spring into a full gallop, 
and the one in the thills would follow his example. 



THUNDER AND LIGHTNING IN THE TROPICS. 459 

Then came a few severe shocks against the large 
stones in the road, and we found ourselves at the bot- 
tom of the hilL One time, the shocks were so severe 
that my footman, who had a seat behind, and a good 
place to hold on with both hands, was missing when 
I reached the bottom of the hill, and, on lookins: 
round, I found the bendy had flung him oif some 
distance upon the rough stones. When .we reached 
Kayu Tanam, thick clouds, that had been gathering on 
the adjacent lofty peaks, rolled down and poured out 
a perfect flood of rain. The drops were so large, and 
fell with such momentum, that it seemed like stand- 
ing under a heavy shower-bath. The lightning 
gleamed as it only does in tropical lands, and the 
thunder roared as if the great Barizan chain on my 
right was splitting open again, and forming another 
immense " cleft." I was wondering that my horses 
were not frightened amid such terrific peals, when 
suddenly a piercing flash dazzled my eyes, and the 
same instant came a sharp crash like the sudden 
breaking of a thousand heavy timbers, and for a 
moment I was quite bewildered. Both horses reared 
until they nearly stood on their hind feet, and then 
plunged forward in a perfect state of fright. The 
road there chanced to be straight, and I let them go 
at the top of their speed for a mile or two, when 
they again became somewhat manageable, and in this 
way we flew along high up the side of a great ravine 
and came into the deep cleft. Ascending the canon, 
we came to Padang Panjang, and the next day to 
Fort de Kock. The waterfall opposite where we 
entered the cleft was considerably swollen by the 



460 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

heavy rains, and a small stream, separate from tlie 
main fall, was shooting over the high edge of the 
precipice. On a steep declivity near by, a small 
stream had coursed part way down, completely hid- 
den from view by the thick sheet of vegetation that 
covered the rocks, until, striking some obstacle, it 
flew off into the air in a great jet, which appeared to 
come out of the solid rock. 

From Fort de Kock my course was nearly west a 
day's ride to Paya Kombo. At first the road led 
over a level or slightly undulating land which 
abounds in villages, and is highly cultivated. A 
number of small streams that rise on the northern 
flanks of the great Merapi, flow northward across the 
plain, and then turn to the east and join to form the 
Batang Agam. Nine miles out we came to a range 
of jagged hills, the scanty soil on their sides only 
serving to make their sharp, projecting rocks more 
conspicuous and unsightly, like a tattered garment 
thrown over a skeleton. This rock I found to be a 
highly crystalline marble of a blue color, completely 
split up by joints and fissures into cubical blocks, 
whose outer surfaces have everywhere become greatly 
roughened by the action of rain and heat. Sub- 
sequently I had an opportunity of learning that it 
makes a very valuable kind of. white lime. 

We presently found ourselves descending into a 
beautiful valley, through which the Agam, already 
a considerable stream, courses rapidly along. The 
road immediately approached its banks, crossed it 
over a high stone bridge, and then ran along a nar- 
row terrace cut in a high precipice of the limestone 



PAYA EOMBO AND THE BUA VALLEY. 4.QI 

cliff, whose feet were bathed in the small river. On 
the level land and hills in this region, the only rock 
which outcropped was a red sandstone, composed 
of strata that have been considerably plicated in many 
places ; but they are evidently of a recent formation 
and unconformable to the older crystalline limestone 
on which they rest. Passing the Merapi, we rode 
down a gradually descending plain that lies on the 
north of Mount Sago. 

Early in the afternoon we came to Paya Kombo, 
where an assistant resident is stationed. His residence 
is the finest building I have seen in Sumatra. He 
greeted me kindly, and introduced me to the assist- 
ant resident stationed at Fort Van der Capellan, the 
next chief place I was designing to visit. Thus I 
found a pleasant companion, and one who could ex- 
plain the peculiarities of the country I should see 
during the next two days. 

April 2d. — Kode from Paya Kombo to Bua with 
the Resident of this district. A short distance from 
Paya Kombo we crossed a large and very beautiful 
stone bridge that had been planned and superin- 
tended by a government official who had never re- 
ceived the slightest training in architecture. Our 
course was nearly southwest, and the road slowly 
ascended, for we were really coming upon the flanks 
of Mount Sago. It then changes to the east, and 
again to the south, as we made a circuit round the 
eastern side of the mountain. This part of the road 
was built on a steep acclivity, that descended to the 
deep valley of the Sinamu on our left. The higher 
hills on the opposite "side of the valley are probably 



463 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN AECHIPELAGO. 

of limestone. Wlien we came round to the soutli 
side of Mount Sago, before us lay tlie charming val- 
ley of Bua, perhaps the most beautiful valley in 
Sumatra. On our left was a range of hundreds of 
sharp peaks, a continuation of the limestone chain 
noticed yesterday between Fort de Kock and Paya 
Kombo. Near their feet is the Sinamu, now a small 
river, flowing away to the southeast. At Paya Kom- 
bo this stream flows to the southeast, which is its 
general course for about twenty-five miles after it 
passes Mount Sago ; it then changes to the east, 
and is known as the Indragiri. It is a fair sample 
of the tortuous course of all the streams in the 
mountainous parts of Sumatra. They wind to and 
fro so abruptly, that sometimes the traveller comes 
to the banks of a river without suspecting for a 
moment that it is the very one which he was follow- 
ing in a wholly different direction the day before. 
The only way it is possible to realize the irregulari- 
ties of these streams, is to examine a map of this 
region on a very large scale. On our left was an- 
other high range walling in the narrow valley, the 
bottom of which curves gradually upward as it ap- 
proaches either side. The level parts of the valley 
are all changed into beautifal sawas, which are now 
filled with young rice - blades of a bright green. 
Riding down the valley for four or five miles, we 
came to the controleur'' s house at Bua. It is sit- 
uated near the west side of the valley, facing the 
north. Thick, clouds, that had been hiding the top 
of Mount Sago, now vanished into pure air, and the 
old crater-walls came grandly into view. They are 



THE BUA CAVE. 453 

SO deeply notclied on tlie soutliern side, tliat I 
could look directly up into the crater from tlie con- 
troleur's residence in tlie valley. The sharp lime- 
stone needles, on the east side of the valley, also 
were more distinct. They were only three miles 
away, and yet I counted no less than twenty sepa- 
rate peaks in a straight line, at right angles with my 
vision, in fifteen degrees along the horizon. Looking 
up from the village of Bua toward Mount Sago, the 
view has a charming ideal effect — such as one might 
expect to see in a composite painting, where wonder- 
ful details of scenery from different localities are 
harmoniously combined. 

April 3d. — At 6 a, m. went with the controleur 
and rajah, and about forty natives, to a large cave 
west of Bua, in the limestone range that forms the 
western boundary of the valley. Coming to a small 
stream that flows out of this chain, we followed its 
course upward, until we found it issuing from be- 
neath a high arch that opened into a large cavern. 
Here the strata of the limestone were more distinct 
than I have seen elsewhere. They have a dip of 
about 20° west, their strike being northwest and 
southeast, the general direction of the chain. Im- 
mediately within the arch the roof of the cave rose 
into a dome, apparently more than one hundred feet 
high at the centre. Flocks of swallows had made 
this their building-place, and, disturbed by the smoke 
of our torches, they made the cavern resound with 
their sharp chirping. On the walls were many 
stalactites that closely resembled the luxuriant or- 
chids and parasites of tropical forests, as if Nature 



464 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDfAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

were liere reproducing in stone the. wonders of tlie 
vegetable kingdom. After crossing tlie stream two 
or tliree times we came to tlie end of tliis grand liall, 
and climbed up what a23peared to be a waterfall, but 
was, in reality, solid stone. The water, flowing over 
the steep ledge of limestone, had in time deposited 
over its rough edges an incrustation, which, of course, 
took exactly the form of the running water that 
made it. 

Having reached the top of this petrified fall, we 
passed on our hands and knees through a small hole, 
and found ourselves in another large hall of an ellip- 
tical form. At the farther end was a small rivulet 
gurgling its way among the large rocks that covered 
the floor of the cave. I had been told that this water 
was so hot that a man could not hold his hand in it ; 
but, on trying it with the thermometer, I found the 
mercury only rose to 92° Fahrenheit, not quite up to 
blood-heat (98°). It abounded, however, in small 
fish about four inches long, several of which the na- 
tives caught with their hands. They all had eyes 
that wer-e apparently well formed, though this place 
seemed to us absolutely cut on from daylight. 

Returning to the outer cave, we proceeded a short 
way by wading in the bed of the stream, but the cav 
ern now diminished into an irregular tunnel, and the 
water that flowed through it was too deep for us to 
go on in safety, and we were therefore obliged to re- 
turn. The controleiir informed me that one of his 
predecessors had gone on and come out again in the 
plain near Fort Van der Capellen, so that the cave is 
really a tunnel, which passes completely through the 



UP THE YALLEY TO SUKA RAJAH. 465 

whole chain ; and tlie distance from its mouth, at 
this place to the ojDening at its opposite end must be 
at least fiYe miles in an air line. While the natiYes 
>Yere in the water, and each held a Mazing torch, I 
ordered them to range themselYes a few feet apart in 
a long line. The light reflected from the changing 
surface of the flowing stream beneath, and the wide 
irregular rocks and stalactites above, and the dark 
half-naked bodies of the natiYes themselYes, made it 
appear as if I had come into the abode of evil de- 
mons ; and this delusion became complete when one 
shouted, and the rest joining in prolonged their cry 
into a wild yell that echoed and reechoed again and 
again, coming back to us like the answering, remorse- 
ful shriek of hundreds of cyII spirits that were impris- 
oned forcYcr deep within the bowels of the mountain. 

In the inner part of the larger cave I was directed 
to look up in a certain direction, when soon a long, 
narrow band of yellow light gleamed from an open- 
ing, and, darting into the caYe, partially lighted up 
some of the long stalactites that hung from the roof. 
Then came two bright flames waving to and fro, 
which showed me the forms of two natives who had 
climbed up some other chamber, and had come out 
through an aperture far above us into the apartment 
where we were standing. 

The Resident was travelling to inspect the coffee- 
gardens, and would go back up the valley to Suka 
Rajah, the " Rajah's Delight," a large coffee-garden 
in the ravine that leads up into the old crater of the 
Sago. I therefore hired coolies to haul my bendy 
over the mountain to Fort Van der Capellen, and 

30 



466 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN AECHIPELAGO. 

thence to Padang Panjang, wMle I accompanied tlie 
Resident and controleur on liorselback. After wc 
liad rested awhile at a small summer-house, I con- 
tinued on foot up the ravine as far as coffee-trees 
are j)l^nted, a coolie from the valley following me, 
and continually begging me to return, for fear we 
might be attacked by a tiger. I told him to go back 
and let me proceed alone ; but we were already so 
far away that he did not dare to leave me. The whole 
interior of this crater is covered with a dense forest, 
in which there are many trees, showing that it 
has constantly remained inactive for many years, 
and this is corroborated by what we know of the 
history of this part of Menangkabau ; for, when " the 
volcano " is spoken of, it is probable that the Merapi 
is meant, and not the Sago, on the one side, nor the 
Singalang on the other. 

As I could not reach to the bottom of the crater 
by following up the ravine, I determined to try to 
ascend one of the ridges on its sides, and possibly 
look down into it from an elevated point. That part 
of the steep mountain-side was covered with tall 
grass, and the "tufa," or red clay, formed by the 
decomposition of the volcanic rock, ejected from this 
vent, was very slippery after the recent shower. Yet, 
by grasping the grass and small shrubbery, I made 
my way up nearly to the rim of the crater, but did 
not get the unobstructed view I wished. To obtain 
this, it is necessary to ascend the mountain on the 
north side. I was, however, far more than repaid 
for my labor, by the magnificent landscape spread out 
before me to the south and southeast. At my feet 



THE RAJAH'S DELIGHT. 457 

began tlie Bua Valley, wliich, at a distance of ten or 
twelve miles, expanded into a plain bordered on tlie 
west by tlie Mgli mountains of tlie Barizan chain, and 
on tlie east by that of tlie Padang Lawas, wliicli yet 
farther on curved round to the southwest and united 
with the Barizan in the gigantic peak of Mount Ta- 
lang. Winding to and fro down the Bua Valley, was 
occasionally seen the silver surface of the Sinamu, 
and beside that and the other streams were many 
broad overflowed sawas, which gave the valleys the 
appearance of abounding with hundreds of little 
lakes. This is the grandest and most comprehen- 
sive view I have enjoyed in Sumatra, and this spot 
is well named "The Rajah's Delight." At an eleva- 
tion of about four thousand five hundred feet we 
found it very chilly by night, not so much from the 
difference of temperature, as indicated by the ther- 
mometer, as on account of a strong wind and a thick 
mist that enveloped us. This coffee-garden is consid- 
ered the best in this region ; but the Resident informs 
me that there are one or two at the same, or a some- 
what greater elevation, on the Merapi, which are 
finer. The large crops raised here are probably due to 
the elevation and to the soil, which has been formed 
from, decomposing volcanic rock, and enriched by the 
vegetable mould that has accumulated for centuries. 
April 4itli. — Continued on horseback along the 
southern flanks of Mount Sago to its western side, 
when we came to the head of a valley bounded by steep 
acclivities. A thick mist unfortunately concealed the 
view from this point, the finest, it is said, in the whole 
region. A steep, zigzag path brought us down to a 



468 TKAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

small stream, and, ten miles in a southwesterly direc- 
tion, we came to tlie Resident's house at Fort Van 
der Capellen. The more direct and frequented road 
between Paya Komlbo and this place lies between 
Mount Sago and Mount Merapi ; and those two great 
elevations are so separate that Tangjong AUam, the 
highest point on the road, is only three thousand 
four hundred feet, about two hundred feet above 
Fort de Kock. Four miles beyond, we passed 
through a village where there is a waringin-tree of 
enormous dimensions. Its trunk is so large that I 
found it required eight natives to embrace it by 
joining hands ! It is not, however, a single, compact 
trunk, like that of a pine, but is composed of an 
irregular bundle of them bound together. Besides 
this, there are three other great trunks which sup- 
port the larger limbs, this species of Ficim being very 
closely allied to the banyan-tree of India. 

Two miles west of this j)lace, on the acclivity of 
one of the limestone ranges already described, lies 
Pagaruyong, now a small kampong, but in ancient 
times one of the capitals of the great Malay kingdom 
of Menangkabau. Its early history only comes down 
to us in obscure legends. One is that Noah and his 
" forty companions " in the ark discovered dry land 
at Lankapura, near the present city of Palembang, 
by seeing a bird which had escaped from their vessel 
alight at that place. From that spot two brothers, 
Papati-si-batang (a name of Sanscrit origin), and 
Kayi Tumangung (a name of Javanese origin), who 
were included in the forty that had escaped the del- 
uge, came to a mountain named Siguntang-guntang, 



THE LEGENDS OF MENANGKABAU. 459 

wMcli was described as dividing Palembang from 
Jambi, and thence to Priangan, a word in Javanese 
signifying " tlie land of wood-spirits," or fairies, and 
at present tlie name of a kampong on tlie road from 
tMs place to Padang Panjang, and situated on tlie 
flanks of the Merapi, near tlie wooded region. There 
is little doubt that this kampong is the same as the 
ancient one of the same name, for that was described 
as being " near the great volcano." 

Another legend represents the founder of the 
Menangkabau empire to have been Sang Sapurba (a 
name compounded of both Sanscrit and Javanese 
words), who is also said to have come from Palem- 
bang, which we know was a Javanese colony. The 
Javanese and Sanscrit origins of these names at once 
suggest the probability that a larger part of the 
civilization which rendered this em]3ire so superior 
to all others in Sumatra, was not indigenous, but 
introduced from Java, and at a period subsequent to 
the introduction into that island of Hinduism and 
its accompanying Sanscrit names from India. The 
names of many of the most remarkable mountains 
and localities in this resfion are also found to be of 
similar origin, and greatly strengthen this probabil- 
ity. The word Menangkabau itself signifies in Java- 
nese " the victory of the buffalo ; " and, as it has 
been one of the favorite sports of the Javanese from 
time immemorial to make buffaloes fight with tigers, 
we may presume this locality acquired its name from 
its being the frequent scene of such a bloody pas- 
time. 

Wlien Europeans first arrived on the northern 



470 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

coast of the island, in 1509, tliis empire was evident- 
ly in its decline; and thougli tlie rajahs of Achin, 
Pedir, and Pase, acknowledged tlie sultan of tliis 
country as their superior, they only paid him a 
small tribute, and were really independent princes. 
The empire at that time included on the east coast 
the area between the rivers of Palembang and Siak, 
and on the west coast from Manjuta, near Indrapura, 
as far north as Singkel, at the mouth of the river of 
that name, which is the outlet of the great Lake Aik 
Dan, in the Batta Lands.'^' Afterward the Pajah of 
Achin, whose daughter the sultan had married and 
slighted, took possession of the west coast, as far 
south as Bencoolen. In 1613 his successor claimed 
no farther south than Padang, and he actually gov- 
erned no place south of Barns. 

In 1680 the Sultan Alif died, leaving no heir. 
Dissensions at once arose, and the empire was ul- 
timately divided between three princes, who each 
claimed to be the regular successor to the throne, 
and assumed all the extravagant titles of the pre- 
vious sultans. These princes severally Tesided at 
Suruasa (on the Dutch maps Soeroeasso), which is 
situated two miles south of Pagaruyong, .on the 
banks of a small stream that flows southward and 
empties into the Ombiling, at Pagaruyong (on the 
Dutch maps Pager Oedjoeng), and at Sungtarap (in 
Dutch Soeng Tarap), a kampong three miles north 
of Fort Van der Capellen. The Dutch treated the 
Prince of Suruasa with the greatest distinction, but 

* Vide Marsden's " Histoiy of Sumatra," p. 322 et seq. 



THE REFORMERS OF KORINCHI. 471 

whether that place or Pagaruyong was the more an- 
cient site is undecided. 

The first European who reached this region was 
Sir Stamford Raffles in 1818. He had the good for- 
tune to discover at Suruasa two inscriptions on stone 
in the Kawi, or ancient Javanese character, thereby 
proving that the early civilization of Java was trans- 
planted to this land. At Pagaruyong he also dis- 
covered a Hindu image, " chastely and beautifully 
carved, corresponding with those discovered in Java, 
and evidently the work of similar artists and the ob- 
ject of a similar worshijD." Thus the ancient religion, 
as well as the ancient language of Java, was adopted 
to some extent by the early inhabitants of this coun- 
try. 

There appears to be no reason why we should 
suppose that Mohammedanism was first introduced 
into Java and thence brought to this land, as there 
is in the case of the Hinduism that prevailed here 
centuries ago. We may rather infer that soon after 
that religion had found followers on the north coast, 
its teachers were not long in making their way into 
the Menangkabau country, the influence and reputed 
wealth of which must have been pictured to them in 
the most glowing colors as soon as they first landed 
at Achin. 

About the year 1807 three native pilgrims re- 
turned from Mecca to their homes on the shores of 
Lake Korinchi, which is situated about thirty miles 
southeast of the great mountain of Talang. As they 
had just left the grave of their prophet, they burned 
with zeal to discipline their lax countrymen, and to 



472 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

make them conform more nearly to the rigid require- 
ments of the faith they had pretended to adopt. Be- 
lieving, like true Mohammedans, that no argument is 
so convincing as the sword, these zealots began a 
warfare as well as a reform. This religion is the 
more remarkable, because, so far as we know, it is 
the only one that has ever been originated in the 
whole archipelago. 

In 1837 these religious conquerors came into 
collision with the Dutch, and, after a severe contest 
of three years, were completely conquered, and not a 
vestige of their rigorous laws can now be discerned. 
Such harsh measures were evidently distasteful to 
the lax Malays, and now on all market-days and fes- 
tive occasions they array themselves in as gaudy colors 
as they did before the zealous pilgrims of Korinchi 
came back from Mecca. 

The skilful work of these people in silver and gold 
has already been described. This they did not learn 
from foreigners, but have practised for ages. They 
were also very skilful in the manufacture of kris- 
blades, cannon, and matchlocks — mining, smelting, 
and forging the iron entirely themselves. Marsden 
says their principal mine was at Padang Luar, prob- 
ably Padang Luwa or Lawa, a kampong on the level 
land near Fort de Kock, and about a mile north 
of that place. It was taken to Selimpuwong (on the 
Dutch maps Salimpawang), a small kampong between 
Mount Merapi and Mount Sago, on the road leading 
northward from this place to Paya Kombo, where it 
was smelted and manufactured. Their cannon were 
often mentioned by the earliest Portuguese naviga- 



MALAY MODE OF MAKING MATCHLOCKS. 4Y3 

tors. They were manufactured liere and sold to the 
more warlike nations at the northern end of the isl- 
and. The barrels of their matchlocks were made by 
winding a flat bar of iron spirally around a circular 
rod and welding it into one piece ; and Marsden, who 
probably saw some of these guns, describes them as 
being of the " justest bore." They also manufactured 
an inferior kind of powder. These arts they may 
have learned from the Chinese, who practised them 
long before they were known in Europe, and who 
probably came down the coast to the Malay penin- 
sula and this island centuries before the Portuguese 
sailed around the Cape of Good Hope. 

At present, all the natives, except the militia, 
within the limits of the Dutch territory, are abso- 
lutely forbidden by the Dutch Government to have 
powder or fire-arms of any description in their pos- 
session, and the penalty against importing them and 
selling them to the natives is very severe. Without 
such a law, no foreigner would be safe in any part of 
the archipelago, The iron that these people now use 
appears to be wholly imported from Europe. They 
need little except for knives, and the steel for those 
comes mostly from Padang. 

This evening the guard reported a fire in a neigh- 
boring kampong, and a bright light was seen some 
miles off on the flanks of the Merapi. Although I 
have now been in the archipelago nearly a year, it 
is the first fire I have seen ; and this appears the more 
remarkable, when we consider the highly inflammable 
materials of which the native huts are built, the walls 
being of bamboo and the roof of atap. However, 



474 TEAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

when they do take fire, tliey Maze up and disappear 
like a bundle of straw. 

A.2jril 6tJi. — The Resident gave me a span of 
horses and a covered carriage to drive to the banks 
of a stream flowing to the southeast, and a servant 
followed with another horse for me to use in fording 
the stream and continuing my journey southward 
to the southern end of Lake Sinkara. There has 
been much rain during the past week, and coming to 
the river we found it so swollen and rapid that the 
moment a horse or man stepped into it he would cer- 
tainly be swept away. I was, therefore, obliged to 
follow up its course a mile or two, till I came to a 
village where the natives had made a rude bridge 
between two his-h trees that leaned toward each other 
from the opposite banks of the torrent. The bottom 
of the bridge consisted of only two large bamboos, 
but there was another on either side to enable one to 
maintain his balance while crossing. No place could 
be found where it was possible to bring over the 
horse, and I was obliged, therefore, to send him back 
and finish that day's journey of twenty miles on foot. 

After crossing the stream I turned to the east- 
ward, and, passing over a number of sharp ridges, 
came down to the road we had left. This conducted 
us along a small, rapid river, which we found to be 
the Ombiling, the only outlet of Lake Sinkara. At 
several places I noticed large wheels for raising water 
to inundate the rice-fields. On the rim were fastened 
pieces of bamboo at a slight angle, which filled as 
they touched the surface of the stream and poured 
out their contents when they came to the highest 



A SIMPLE MEAL. 4^5 

point. In all particulars these wheels are exactly- 
like those used in China for the same purpose, and 
perhaps were introduced by immigrants or merchants 
from that land. We crossed the foaming Ombiling 
on a bridge near where the lake pours out its surplus 
water down a ravine and forms that stream. Before 
the Dutch came up into this region the natives had 
made a suspension bridge here, near Samawang, simi- 
lar to the one I crossed over the Batang Taroh. Gov- 
ernor Raffles has described it in his memoirs, and has 
also noticed the water-wheels just described, so that 
they must have been in use for a long time, and could 
not have been introduced by Europeans nor by the 
Chinamen who have established themselves at the 
principal places in this region since it became subject 
to the Dutch. 

Mid-day was passed when I reached the kampong 
of Samawang, near the bridge, and I was so worn out 
with my long walk over the mountains and fording 
the swollen streams, that I was glad to crawl into a 
little dirty hut and beg an old Malay woman to cook 
me a little rice, for I had yet ten miles farther to go, 
and pouring showers frequently came over the lake. 
My repast consisted of rice, a smoked fish, a few 
grains of coarse salt and some red pepj)er ground uj> 
together between two flat stones. As I satisfied my 
hunger, I could but contrast my simple meal with the 
royal feasts I had been taking with the governor at his 
residence at Padang less than a week before, but, as 
Shakespeare says, " Hunger is the best sauce," and 
I enjoyed my hard fare more than many pampered 
princes do the choicest viands. From this j)lace there 



476 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

is a well-built road along tlie eastern side of tlie lake 
to the kampong of Sinkara on tke sontkern skore. Tke 
lake is ten miles long and about three miles wide. It 
is parallel to tke Barizan ckain in tkis place, and ex- 
tends in a nortkwest and soutkeast direction. Its 
surface is about seventeen kundi^ed feet above 
tke sea. Its most remarkable ckaracter is its great 
deptk at one place, near tke cleft of Paningakan, 
wkere tke plummet runs down eleven kundred 
and eigkty-two feet, nearly a quarter of a mile, so 
tkat its bottom, at tkat spot, is only about five kun- 
dred feet above tke level of tke sea. West of tke 
Sinkara is tke great Barizan ckain, witk its acclivities 
rising immediately from tke margin of tke lake, and 
its peaks generally attaining an elevation of fifteen 
kundred feet above tke lake, or tkree tkousand two 
kundred feet above tke sea. On tke eastern side, and 
on tke nortkern end of tke lake, are kills of less tkan 
kalf tkat keigkt, mostly composed of syenite. Tke 
Barizan ckain, as skown in tke cleft of Paningakan, 
is composed of ckloritic sckists interstratified witk 
marble, and overlaid in most ]3laces witk lava, j)um- 
ice-stone, and volcanic sand or askes. Tkese strata 
of sckists and limestone undoubtedly rest on gigan- 
tic rocks, for suck are found outcropping on tke op- 
posite or coast side of tke range. Tke basin of Lake 
Sinkara, tkerefore, occurs wkere a great fault kas 
taken place. Five miles east of tke lake, and a skort 
distance soutk of tke kampong Pasilian, is Mount 
Sibumbun, wkick, as well as tke cleft of Paningakan, 
kas been carefully examined by Mr. Van Dijk, of 
tke Government Mining Corps, on account of tke 



GEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE PLATEAU. 4.77 

copper-mines they contain. Sibumlbun is a peak of 
greenstone rising out of syenite. Westward, one 
passes from the granite into marble, and then on to 
a sandstone of a late formation, which contains layers 
of coal that is probably of the same age as that I saw 
at Siboga. 

The whole geological history of this part of Su- 
matra may be summed up as follows : On the syenite 
and granite, layers of mud and coral were deposited : 
then the whole was raised and plicated; and after 
this period was deposited the sandstone, the strata of 
which we have ah-eady noted as being unconformable 
to the rocks on which they rest, and more nearly hori- 
zontal. If, as Mr. Van Dijk thinks, and is very prob- 
able, the marble in the cleft of Padang Pangjang is 
formed from corals, at least not older than the eocene 
age, it follows that the mountain-ranges of Sumatra 
have been formed within a comparatively recent pe- 
riod. The process of covering these strata by lava, 
pumice-stone, and volcanic sand and ashes, has been 
going on since historic time. 

The most remarkable thing in this kampong of 
Sinkara, is the hali, or town-hall. Either end, on 
the inside, is built up into a series of successive plat- 
forms, one rising over the other. On the outside these 
elevated ends resemble the stern of the old three and 
four decked frigates which the Dutch generally used 
when they first became masters of these seas, and such 
as can yet be seen used as hulks in the ports of the Brit- 
ish colonies. The exterior of the hali, as well as the 
better private houses, are painted red, and ornamented 
with flowers and scroll-work in white and black. 



478 TRAV^ELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

While at this village I noticed a native leading a 
large dog-like monkey from place to place. On in- 
quiring, the servants told me that lie was trained to 
pick off cocoa-nuts from the bunches in the trees, but 
I doubted whether he could know what ones to se- 
lect, and therefore watched him myself. His master 
brought him to the foot of the tree, gave a peculiar 
jerk to the rope, and at once he began to climb up. 
Reaching the top, he seated himself on the base of a 
leaf and immediately began wrenching off those nuts 
that were fully grown, by partially twisting them. 
After he had taken off all the ripe nuts on one side 
of the tree, he went round to the opposite side and 
broke off the ripe ones there also^ without once at- 
tempting to pull off those that were partly grown. 
This selecting the ripe nuts from the large clus- 
ters seemed to be the result of his own instinct, and 
not of any signal from his master, so far as I could 
detect. 

The shore at the southern end of the lake is very 
low and marshy, and wholly devoted to rice-fields. 
Here were enormous flocks of herons, that made the 
sawas perfectly white wherever they alighted. Over 
these low lands is built the road that leads to Solok, 
six miles distant in a southeasterly direction. 

April St7i, — Rode to Solok. On the way passed 
twenty-seven women going to the burial of a native 
prince. Their costume was peculiar, even in this 
land. It consisted simply of the common sarong 
open at the right hip, and fastened at the waist to a 
narrow scarf about the neck, and a turban around 
the head. About three miles from Sinkara, the way 



THE THIRTEEN CONFEDERATE TOWNS. 4Y9 

passed over a sligM elevation, and again I came 
down into a low land whicli was one great fertile 
sawa. Rice here is abundant and very cheap, 
and the ^Resident states that many of the natives 
prefer to nse that which is at least a year old, and 
that a few have small quantities which they have 
kept for several years. The kernels of this rice are 
smaller than those of the kind grown in our Caro- 
linas ; but that has been tried here, and found to 
yield less by a considerable number of j)ounds per 
acre than the native variety. 

This region was known, before it was conquered 
by the Dutch, as the Tiga Bias country, or the coun- 
try of the " Thirteen Confederate Towns," because 
the thirteen villages in this vicinity had entered into 
a compact to afford mutual aid and protection. In 
a similar manner all the territory that jDreviously be- 
longed to the single kingdom of Menangkabau was 
divided up into petty confederacies when the Dutch 
conquered the country, and the several areas thus 
ruled are now marked on the Dutch maps as the 
district of the " Five, Ten, or Twenty Kottas." At 
23resent, though most of the natives live in villages, 
many houses are scattered over the cultivated lands. 
Before the conquest they all lived in villages that 
were generally surrounded by a stockade and a thick 
hedge of bamboos. The Dutch generals who sub- 
dued them destroyed these rude fortifications, that 
the villagers might have no defences and less facili- 
ties to revolt. 

Many of the kampongs in this region were then 
situated on the hills, but have since been removed to 



480 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

the plains for the same reason. Near Solok, the in- 
ner range that forms the western buttress of the pla- 
teau rises up above the surrounding plain like a great 
v^all, that curves round to the west and unites with 
the Barizan chain in the great Talang, which attains 
an elevation of about eight thousand five hundred 
feet. A short distance north of it is a cleft, through 
which the Eesident is now building a road to Padang. 
About twelve miles to the north are two other clefts, 
near Paningahan, formed by the throes of a volcano 
near that kampong ; and farther north is the cleft at 
Padang Panjang, all four occurring within less than 
thirty miles in a straight line. 

On the southeastern declivity of Talang, at the 
height of six thousand feet, is a small tarn, whence 
issues the Solok Hiver, that empties into Lake Sinkara, 
the source of the Ombiling, which curves to the east 
and southeast, and unites with the Sinamu, that we 
have already traced from Paya Kombo down the 
Bua Valley. From their juncture begins the In- 
dragiri, which, pursuing an easterly course over the 
low lands that form the eastern side of Sumatra, 
empties into the Java Sea nearly opposite the Linga 
Islands. This tarn, therefore, may be regarded as 
the source of the Indragiri ; and within a circle of 
half a mile radius rise three streams that flow in 
wholly different directions — two, the Indragiri and 
Jambi, emptying into the Java Sea, and the third 
mingling its waters with those of the Indian Ocean. 

A^ril 10th. — Hode on horseback from Sinkara 
north to Samawang, at the outlet of the lake, and 
thence continued on foot in a westerly direction to 



THE FLANKS OF THE MERAPI. 481 

Batu Bragon, at its nortliern end, and in a north- 
westerly direction to Padang Panjang. 

On tlie west side of tlie lake, from tlie moutlis of 
tlie deep ravines, extend bands of naked stones, wMck 
form, as it were, ]3aved liigliways — tke higliways, 
indeed, tliat Natnre lias made for man to go up among 
lier sublime mountains. 

Between Samawang and Batu Bragon I crossed 
several beds of tkese dry torrents. The boulders in 
them were mostly of lava, and rapidly falling apart 
into a coarse, sharp-edged shingle. Fragments of 
syenite also appeared. These stones had been washed 
down from the neighboring hills, and were piled up 
in long winrows, as if they had been as light as chaff 
— so great is the transporting power of these moun- 
tain torrents, that only exist during the heavy rains. 

From Batu Bragon the road ascended the flanks 
of the Merapi, which are under the highest state of 
cultivation — most of them terraced for rice, but 
some sugar-cane is also raised here. To press out 
its juices, two cylinders of wood are placed perpen- 
dicularly in a wooden frame, and several spirals are 
made on each, so that they will exactly fit into each 
other like the cogs of two wheels. One of these is 
turned round by a long lever drawn by a buffalo, 
the other cylinder revolving at the same time, but, 
of course, in the ojDposite direction. The stalks of 
the cane are put in on one side, and the juices are 
gathered in a large vessel beneath. This they boil 
into a syrup, and, some say, crystallize it into sugar. 

Again and again, as I was ascending to Padang 
Panjang, I turned to enjoy once more the magnifi- 



4:82 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

cent view to the south. Near me were green rice- 
fields waving in the sunshine, and far beneath these 
was the large blue lake surrounded by high dark 
mountains ; on their lofty peaks were gathering' 
black clouds, from which occasionally a heavy, sup- 
pressed muttering rolled along, betokening the se- 
verity of the coming storm. The next day I returned 
to the governor's residence at Padang. 

Some time before I came from Java, a Malay 
prau, in the employ of Chinamen, had visited the 
Pagi Islands, to purchase cocoa-nut oil and tortoise- 
shell, and had induced a man and woman, repre- 
sented in the accompanying illustration, to go with 
them to Padang. The sarong of the woman was made 
of the leaves of the cocoa-nut palm and banana, torn 
up into strips, and fastened at one end to a long 
rattan, which was wound several times round the 
waist. When these leaves are green, they form a 
respectable covering, but, in the hot, troj)ical sun, 
they soon wither into mere strings. ' For a baju a 
similar garment of banana-leaves was used. The head- 
dress was yet more peculiar. It was made of banana- 
leaves, folded, as shown in the engraving, into the 
form of a cocked hat. This is usually ornamented at 
the top with a tuft of grass, and it is always worn 
crosswise. The only clothing of the man was a strip 
of bark, about four inches wide, and ten or twelve 
feet long, passing round the waist, and covering the 
loins, as shown in the cut. Boys go entirely naked 
until they are about eight years old. Neither the 
man nor woman cared for rice, but they were fond of 
bread, though they had never seen any before. Then' 




NATIVES OF THE PAGl ISLANDS. 
p^ 4^2, From a photograph. 



NATIVES OF THE PAGI ISLANDS. 483 

usual food at lionie was sago, Iboiled in salt water, 
and covered with grated cocoa-nut. Wlien tlie gov- 
ernor gave tlie man a fowl, and asked him to cook it 
after his own fashion, he built a small fire in the 
back yard, and, as soon as it was well blazing, tied 
the bird's wings and legs, and thrust it alive into 
the flames, in order to burn off the feathers. The 
governor provided them with many presents for 
their rajahs and friends, and, at the first oppor- 
tunity, sent them back to their islands. Soon after 
their return, another native came to Padang in the 
same way. He was there when I came back from 
the interior, and, at the governor's invitation, he 
made us a visit. He was of the pure Malay tjipe, 
not differing to a marked degree in stature or general 
proportions from the Sumatran Malays who came 
with him. His breast and abdomen and the backs 
of his hands were tattooed. Both sexes are orna- 
mented in this way. The j)rocess is begun when 
they are six or seven years old, and continued at in- 
tervals for a long time. This man said that each 
village had a style of its own. It is done with a 
sharpened copper wire, and the substance pricked in 
is said to be the smoke of a gum, mingled with the sap 
of some plant, as the juice of the sugar-cane. He had 
no idea of the origin of this custom ; nor of its use, 
except to distinguish the people of the various vil- 
lages. 

Some time before I set out on my last journey, the 
governor had offered to give me a small gun-boat, 
somewhat larger than a pilot-boat, but manned with 
nearly twenty Malays, to go off to these islands, tak- 



484: TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

ing this man, wlio liad learned some Malay during 
his stay at Padang with me as an interpreter. An 
unexpected event, however, made it necessary to send 
that boat up the coast, and it would be some days 
before another would come ; so I concluded to take 
the mail-boat for Bencoolen, and commence a long 
journey directly across the island to Palembang, and, 
reaching Banca, go up to Singapore on the steamer 
which touches at that island while on her way to 
Singapore from Batavia. 

While travelling in the interior of Sumatra, we 
have seen that the mountains, which extend from one 
end of the island to the other, range themselves, gen- 
erally, in two parallel chains, that wall in a long, 
narrow plateau. The island of Engano is the sum- 
mit of the southeastern peak in another similar 
mountain-chain, extending in a northwesterly direc- 
tion, parallel to those already described. After sink- 
ing beneath the level of the sea, this chain rea|)pears 
in the Pagi, Mantawi, and Batu groups, Pulo ISTias, 
Pulo Babi, and the Cocos Islands. 

The plateau in the interior, we have also found, 
is divided into a number of separate valleys, by 
transverse ranges, which yoke together the principal 
chains. In a similar manner transverse ranges a|)- 
pear in Pulo Kapini, one of the Batu Islands, and in 
the Banyak Islands. These transverse ranges are 
seen also in the high and well-marked |)romontories 
which jut out from the Barizan, or coast-chain of 
Sumatra, at those places. A third projecting part 
of the coast is seen at Indrapura. As the valleys in 
the interior become plateaus, when we compare them 



WHERE THE BASIN OF THE INDIAN OCEAN BEGINS. 485 

to the present sea-level, so is tlie long, narrow area 
between these islands and Sumatra a plateau, when 
compared with the bed of the unfathomable ocean 
outside of them. In the same manner, then, as 
the Kurile and Japan Islands, the Lew-Chews, and 
Formosa, are but the more elevated parts of a great 
mountain-chain that rises on the eastern edge of the 
continent of Asia, so these islands are only the tops 
of another great chain which rises on a part of the 
southern border of the same continent, and indicates 
where the wide and deep basin of the Indian Ocean 
commences. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



CEOSSIISTG SUMATEA. 



A])ril Vltli. — Took tlie steamer at Padang for 
Bencoolen. Nearly all tlie way we had a heavy wind 
irom the southeast, though the southeastern monsoon 
has not yet begun in the Java Sea. The western 
limit of this monsoon region, I judge, after many in- 
quiries, may be considered to be the Cape of Indra- 
pura, but both monsoon winds prevail occasionally as 
far north as Padang. Farther north the winds are 
constantly variable. At Tapanuli Bay I was in- 
formed that heavy "northers" occasionally prevail 
for several days ; and I was earnestly advised not to 
go off to the adjacent island of Mensalla in a ship's 
boat, though the sea was calm for two or three days 
at a time. 

April 18t7i. — At 2 p. m. we entered Bencoolen Bay. 
It is an open roadstead, and the swell raised by the 
steady southeast trades of the Indian Ocean rolls in 
and breaks for the first time on the shore, there 
being no chain of islands to the seaward to protect 
this part of the coast, as there is farther north. We 
were able, however, to anchor in the bay off the city. 
Landing here is difficult, on account of the surf, and 



EAT ISLAND. 48^ 

especially as tlie shores are mostly fringed with coral 
reefs. The city is located on a low bluff, on the 
south side of the bay. 

By a treaty with the Dutch in 1824 this terri- 
tory was ceded them by the English, in exchange for 
Malacca and the adjoining country. It is at present 
under a ^Resident, who is appointed by the govern- 
ment at Batavia, and is not under the Governor of 
Padang. The residency commences at the south- 
eastern extremity of the island, and includes the 
area between the Barizan chain and the sea-coast, 
from that point as far north as Mokomoko. Its 
population numbers one hundred and twenty thou- 
sand five hundred and fourteen, and is divided as 
follows : — Europeans, one hundred and seventy-four ; 
natives, one hundred and nineteen thousand six hun- 
dred and ninety - one ; Chinese, five hundred and 
ninety-six ; Arabs, six ; other Eastern nations, forty- 
seven. 

April 19 tJi. — The Resident gave me a large j)rau 
to go to Pulo Tikus or Rat Island, a small coral island, 
about six miles off Bencoolen. On its shore-side the 
reef curves in at one place, and forms a little bay. 
All round it, on the edges of the reef, were a number 
of old anchors, heavy enough for the largest frigates. 
They had been placed there by the English, who 
moored their ships at that place, and carried off the 
pepper from Bencoolen in praus. If Bencoolen had 
a good harbor or roadstead, it would be an impor- 
tant place, but it has none, and there is no good 
opportunity to make one. 

On Pulo Tikus we found a few fishermen, from 



488 TEAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

whom I obtained a number of tlie same species of 
sliells that I had gathered before at the Spice 
Islands and other places in the eastern part of the 
archipelago. The common nautilus ■ shell is occa- 
sionally found there, and a very perfect one was given 
me that had been brought from Engano. It is, how- 
ever, probable that the animal does not live in these 
seas, and that these shells have floated from the vicin- 
ity of the island of E-otti, off the southern end of 
Timur, where, as already noticed, these rare mollusks 
are said to live in abundance. 

Bencoolen is also well known throughout the 
archipelago as having been the residence of Sir 
Stamford Raffles, who was governor of the English 
possessions, on this coast, from 1818 to 1824. From 
1811 to 1816, while the whole archipelago was under 
the English, Sir Stamford was governor-general, and 
resided near Batavia, and it was contrary to his 
most earnest representations that Java and its de- 
pendencies were ceded back to the Dutch ; and 
the great, direct revenue which those islands have 
yielded to Holland, since that time, has proved, in 
an emphatic manner, the correctness of his foresight. 
Ever since I arrived at Batavia, I have frequently 
heard his name mentioned by the Dutch officials, 
and always with the greatest respect. 

Governor Baffles's taste for natural history was 
very marked. During his visit to London, before 
coming here, he founded the Zoological Society, and 
besran the Zoological Gardens, which now form one 
of the chief inducements to strangers to visit that 
great and wealthy metropolis. When he sailed from 



LOSS OF GOVERNOR RAFFLES'S COLLECTION. 489 

this port, jhis sliip was nearly loaded witli tlie ani- 
mals of the region, living and mounted, but, the 
same evening, when not more than fifty miles from 
the coast, she took fire, and her crew and passengers 
barely escaped with their lives. Not only all Sir 
Stamford's specimens, but all his official documents, 
and the many private papers he had been gathering 
during twelve years, were irreparably lost. Such a 
strange fatality seems to attend the shipment of 
specimens in natural history from the East, but I 
trust that mine may be an exception to this rule.'^* 

April 20th. — Rode to Ujang Padang, a low bluff 
about twenty feet high, on the north side of Ben- 
coolen Bay. It is composed of a stiff, red clay, rest- 
ing on other layers of lead-colored clay, which are 
stratified, and contain many fossils of recent shells, a 
few of which appeared in the lower strata of the red 
clay. These fossiliferous strata probably extend for 
some distance north and south, but are concealed by 
the overlying strata of red clay, for they reappear 
again at the foot of a bluff between this point and 
Bencoolen. 

From Cape Indrapura southward, a strip of low, 
comparatively level land borders the shore, but north 
of that point the ocean comes up to the bases of the 
hills and mountains. South of that point there are 
a few small islands near the shore, but north of it 

* "While this work is going to the press, the specimens referred to 
have all arrived in perfect order, though the ship that brought them 
was obliged to put in twice in distress, having one time been nearly 
dismasted by a cyclone, that kept her on her beam ends for eight 
hours. 



490 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

the sea is studded witli tliem ; and especially nortli of 
Padang tliere are very many shallow, dangerous coral 
reefs, not indicated on most maps. South of Indrapura 
the coast has either l3een elevated more than the area 
north of it, which has remained beneath the sea, or 
the northern part of the coast has been depressed, 
while the southern part has nearly maintained its 
former level. The sand and clays of which this strip 
of low alluvial land is composed came from the dis- 
integration and decomposition of the rocks that form 
the Barizan chain. They have been transported to 
their present position by the many small streams 
that flow down the southwestern flanks of those 
mountains to the sea. The transporting power of 
a stream depends, of course, chiefly on its volume, 
and the rapidity with which it flows. A glance 
at the maps of Sumatra will show that the larger 
streams are north of Cape Indrapura. Again, as the 
streams south of that point flow, for a part of their 
course, through level lands, they are not as rapid 
as those north of it, which emj)ty at once into the 
sea, without making a circuitous or zigzag course 
through the alluvial lands, or deltas, which they 
themselves have formed. 

April 21st. — Commenced my overland journey 
on horseback, the only mode of travelling in this 
region. Our company to-day consists of the Resi- 
dent, a rajah, and many attendants; and we have 
come here to Suban, to look at the de|)osits of coal 
in this vicinity. From Bencoolen to Taba Panan- 
jong, at the foot of the Barizan, the road is nearly 
level, being over the strip of low land that we fol- 



A TRAP FOR TIGERS. 491 

lowed along the Bencoolen Kiver, having the sharp- 
ly-pointed Sugar-Loaf Mountain on our right, until 
we came to a second pointed hill belonging to the 
same eruptive formation. In one place we saw the 
recent tracks of an elephant, and the natives, who 
are good judges, think they were probably made yes- 
terday. Soon after, a spot was pointed out to me 
where, not long before, were found fragments of the 
clothing, and a part of the body of a native, who, 
while travelling along this, the most frequented road 
in this region, had been torn to pieces by the tigers. 
Near by is a rude trap for these destructive beasts. 
It consists of a small place, enclosed by a paling, 
with two large trees placed horizontally, the one 
above the other, so that when the tiger puts his head 
between them to seize the kid within the j)aling, the 
upper beam falls on him and holds him fast by its 
great weight. The natives then, hearing his roaring, 
come up and quickly dispatch him with their lances. 
When eighteen paals (about seventeen miles) from 
Bencoolen, we left the main road, which is well 
built, and followed a narrow footpath for six paals 
over a succession of small ridges that jut out from 
the main coast-chains. They were so near together 
that we were continually either scrambling down a 
steep declivity to the bottom of a little valley, or 
climbing up the opposite side. The soil is a red 
clay, like that noticed in the cliffs at Ujang Padang, 
and has been formed by the decomposition of the vol- 
canic rocks which it covers. Heavy showers have 
occurred in this vicinity to-day, and descending or 
ascending these declivities is very difficult. It would 



492 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

be dangerous to travel liere with any but these active 
and sure-footed ponies. With men on their backs 
they v^ill climb U23 places that our horses at home, 
which are accustomed to level roads, would not like 
to ascend alone. In certain spots along this path 
were many piles of the excrements of elephants, 
where they came to feed on the branches of young 
trees. Half an hour before sunset we arrived here, 
at Suban, a village of four houses, and were glad to 
rest and take some food after a very fatiguing day's 
journey. Near by is a large stony brook, where I 
have enjoyed a refreshing bath in the cool, clear 
mountain-stream. 

April 22<^. -— Early this morning we walked 
about half a mile up the stream, making our way 
over the huge boulders in its bed. Soon we came to 
strata of coal, associated with layers of clay and 
sandstone. I was searching particularly for a lime- 
stone mentioned by Van Dijk, who has examined 
the geology of this region, as being of the same age 
as the coal, and containing fossils of a recent period. 
Not finding it in this direction, I returned and con- 
tinued down the stream for half a mile, crossing from 
side to side over the slippery rocks and through the 
torrent until the banks became high, perpendicular 
walls, and the water was deeper than the waist. 

Finding I could proceed no farther without a raft 
of bamboo, I returned a quarter of a mile, ascended 
the steep bank, and followed down the stream for 
about a mile, but could not find any outcropping of 
the rock I was seeking. When I reached Suban 
again, I felt a peculiar smarting and itching sensa- 



BLOOD-SUCKERS. 493 

tion at tlie ankles, and found my stockings red with 
blood. Turning tkem down, I found botk ankles 
perfectly fringed witli blood-suckers, some of wkicli 
kad filled themselves until tkey seemed ready to 
burst. One had even crawled down to my foot, 
and made an incision which allowed the blood 
to pour out through my canvas shoe. All this 
day . we have suffered from these disgusting pests. 
Our horses became quite striped with their own 
blood, and a dog that followed us looked as if 
he had run through a pool of clotted gore before we 
reached the highway again. Of all the pests I have 
experienced in the tropics, or in any land, whether 
mosquitoes, black flies, ants, snakes, or viler vermin, 
these are the most annoying and disgusting. There 
is something almost unendurable in the thought 
that these slimy worms are lancing you and sucking 
out your life-blood, yet the Resident informs me that 
he has travelled many times through the forests in 
this region when these animals were far more numer- 
ous and tormenting than they have been to-day. 
Sometimes he has known them to drop from the 
leaves upon the heads and into the necks of all 
who chanced to pass that way. 

Returning two paals toward the highway, we took 
a path through a magnificent forest in a more easter- 
ly direction, for about the same distance, to Ayar 
Sumpur, a brook where the coal again a|)pears on its 
sides and in its bed. The layers seen at Suban were 
not more than two or three feet thick, but here they 
are from six to ten. Between this place and Suban 
coal again outcrops on the banks of the Kamuning. . 



4-94 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN AECHIPELAGO. 

In all these places it is near tlie surface, being 
only covered with a few feet of red clay. That 
at Ayar Sumpur appears decidedly better than that 
found near Siboga."^* From this place to where the 
coal could be taken down the Bencoolen River is a 
distance of only four Java paals. From there it 
could be transported to Bencoolen on bamboo rafts, 
the distance by the river being twenty-six and a half 
paals. The enormous quantity found here is esti- 
mated at over 200,000,000 cubic yards. The quan- 
tity and the quality of this deposit will make it of 
value, in case the government owning this part of the 
island should have its supply from Europe cut off by 
a war, but the disadvantage of not having a good 
roadstead at Bencoolen, where this coal could be 
taken on board vessels, renders it doubtful whether 
it would be found profitable to work this mine, ex- 
cept in case of great emergency, and then it might be 
found preferable to bring it from Borneo. Coal is also 
found at Dusun Baru, in the district of Palajou, on 
the banks of the Ketaun River, in the district of 
Mokomoko, and again in the district of Indrapura. 
At all these places it agrees in its mineral charac- 
teristics and outcrops very regularly at a distance of 
about ten miles from the sea-coast. About five miles 
farther inland, at Bukit Sunnur and at Suban, another 
and superior kind of coal appears, which maybe some- 
what older than the former. This latter coal agrees 
in its mineral characteristics with that found a few 

* This accords with Van Dijk's statement, that while the purity of 
English coals is represented by 81.08, that of the Orange-aSTassau mines 
in Borneo would be represented by 98.46, and this by 69.47. 



PITS FOR THE RHINOCEROS. 495 

miles east of the lake of Sinkara. All tke coal in tke 
vicinity of Snban is near tke surface, sometimes only- 
covered witk four or five feet of red clay. Any pri- 
vate company wlio would like to work tkis mine 
would receive every assistance from the general and 
local governments. 

On our return from Agar Sumpur we noticed tke 
tracks of a rMnoceros, tiger, and deer, wkicli liad 
all passed along tkat way last nigkt. In tke patk, 
from place to place, tke natives kad made ]3its eigkt 
or ten feet long, and about tkree wide and five or six 
deep. Eack was covered over witk sticks, on wkick 
dirt was laid, and dry leaves were scattered over tke 
wkole so as to perfectly conceal all appearance of 
danger. It is so nearly of tke proportions of tlie rM- 
noceros, for wkom it is made, and so deep, and tke clay 
in wkick it is made is so slippery, tkat ke generally 
fails to extricate kimself, and tke natives tken dis- 
patck Mm witk tkeir sj)ears. Tke Resident tells me 
tkat tke natives kave also killed elepkants ky watck- 
ing near a place Avkere tkey come often to feed, and 
wken one is walking and partly sliding down a steep 
declivity tkey spring up bekind kim and give a keavy 
blow witk a cleaver on tke after-part of tke kind- 
legs, six or eigkt inckes above tke foot, but tkat tkis 
dangerous feat is very rarely attempted. 

Reacking tke main road, we soon arrived at 
Taba Pananjong. All tke kampongs in tkis re- 
gion are small, frequently consisting of only eigkt 
or ten kouses, but tkey are all very neat and 
regularly arranged in one row on eack side of tke 
road, Avkick is usually bordered witk a line of cocoa- 



496 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

nut-trees. The natives are called Rejangs, and form 
a distinct nation from tlie Malays of Menangkabau. 
They have an alphabet and language peculiar to 
themselves, but belong to the same Malay race as all 
the others in the island of Sumatra. In order that 
I might see them dance, the Eesident invited the 
rajah to come to the house of the controleur in the 
evening and bring with him the " anak gadis^'' liter- 
ally " the virgins," of the village, but really the un- 
married females. They were all clad in a sarong, 
fastened high round the waist, and over the shoulders 
was thrown a sort of scarf, which was so folded that 
one end would hang down behind, between the shoul- 
ders. Their dance consisted in little more than stretch- 
ing both arms back until the backs of the hands 
nearly touched each other, and holding the edges of 
the scarf between the fingers. This peculiar figure 
they take in order to give their busts the fullest ap- 
pearance possible, and captivate some one of the 
young men looking on. From this position they 
changed their hands to near the shoulders, the arms 
being extended and the forearms being turned back 
toward the head. The hands were then twisted 
round, with the wrist for a pivot. 

Several young men appeared quite charmed and 
eagerly joined in the dance. The postures they as- 
sumed were quite similar. It is on such festive oc- 
casions that marriage contracts are generally made. 
The price of a bride, jujur^ is fixed by the Dutch 
Government at twenty guilders, eight Mexican dollars, 
that is, the parents cannot now recover more than 
that sum for their daughter in case their son-in-law 



THE VIRGIN CHILDREN. 49^ 

is unwilling to pay a larger sum. When tlie EnglisL. 
were here in tlie beginning of this century, the jujur 
was as high as a hundred or a hundred and twenty 
dollars. Some of the " virgin children " I noticed had 
reached middle age, but the rajah explained to me that 
no man is willing to part with his daughters at a less 
price than the twenty guilders his neighbor receives 
for each of his, for fear of apj)earing to acknowledge 
that he thought his neighbor's daughters were more 
fascinating than his own ; and a young man, being 
obliged to pay the same sum for any bride, of course 
chooses one who, according to his fancy, possesses the 
greatest charms, and no one who is not young is sup- 
posed to be charming. 

Another common mode of marrying among these 
people is termed uinbil anak^ " taking a child." A 
father chooses a husband for his daughter and takes 
the young man to live in his family. When this 
young man can pay a certain sum to the father, he 
removes his wife and family to his own house, but 
until that time he and his family are regarded as ser- 
vants or debtors. As tokens of their virginity, the 
anak gadis wear silver on their forearms, and broad 
bands of silver on their wrists. In the Lampong 
country to the south, instead of small, solid rings, they 
wear large rings made of hollow tubes, sometimes in 
such a number as to cover both arms from the wrist to 
the elbow. Here they occasionally have silver chains 
on their necks, and in their ears ornaments some- 
what similar in form to those worn in the Menang- 
kabau country, but much smaller, and the part that 
passes through the ear is no larger than a quill. 

32 



498 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

These natives also make many fine imitations of fruit 
and flowers in silver, like those of the Padang plateau. 
Their sarongs and scarfs they manufacture themselves, 
and ornament very skilfally with figures and leaves 
wrought in with silver-thread. 

Aj^ril 2Qth. — Kode this morning from Taba 
Pananjong over the Barizan or Coast Range, which 
here, as elsewhere, is generally higher than the ranges 
parallel to it on the east, and therefore forms the 
water-shed between the east and west coasts. The 
road had been well built, but was extremely muddy 
and badly washed away in some places by the heavy 
rains which have lately occurred in this vicinity. It 
■is, however, sufficiently good for the natives to use 
t\Q\Y padatis^ or carts drawn by buffaloes, but most of 
the men I met were carrying their produce to market 
on their backs. 

All the mountains are covered with a most dense 
forest, but the low lands which spread from their 
bases to the sea appear quite unfertile, especially 
when compared with the low lands of Java. The 
morning air was still and clear, and troops of large 
black monkeys made the valleys and ravines continu- 
ally resound with their loud trumpeting. From the 
top of the pass, which is from two thousand five 
hundred to three thousand feet in height, a magnifi- 
cent view is obtained, to the southwest, of the low 
lands extending to Bencoolen, and also of Pulo Tikus 
in the distance, and the heavy surf breaking on its 
coral reefs and sparkling brightly in the sunshine. 
On the opposite or interior side of the chain was 
spread out before me the lovely and highly fertile 



PLATEAU OF THE MUSI. 499 

valley of tlie River Musi, wliich. takes its rise a little 
farther to tlie north. In tlie midst of this valley was 
the kampong and Dutch post Kopaiyong. Beyond the 
valley rose an active volcano, Mount Ulu Musi, with 
three peaks. The largest and the oldest was quiet, and 
beyond it was a second and somewhat smaller cone, 
evidently of a more recent origin than the former, but 
also inactive. Beyond this cone was a third, yet smaller, 
from the top of which great quantities of steam and 
other gases were ascending in dense volumes. 

From this pass our descent was as rapid as our 
ascent had been on the coast side, until we came 
down to the banks of the Musi, and the valley in 
which the village of Kopaiyong is situated. The 
height of this plateau above the sea is from fifteen to 
eighteen hundred feet. It is a complete analogue of 
the plateau about the lake of Sinkara, and all the 
others between the Barizan and its parallel chains 
to the northward. Its soil is a fine, black loam. Its 
chief products are tobacco and coffee, which both 
thrive here very well. This is considered, and no 
doubt rightly, a very healthy place. There are no 
" wet or dry seasons," as in Java, but showers occur 
here every few days, generally in the afternoon. 
Although the soil and climate of this valley are so 
favorable for the development of civilization, yet the 
natives in all this region, until a few years ago, only 
clothed them_selves with the bark of trees. This pla- 
teau has lacked, however, one inducement toward pro- 
moting industry and civilization which that of Me- 
nangkabau possesses, and that is gold. In the coast 
region, the houses of the natives have high, sharp 



500 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

roofs, and are covered v^itli atap, but liere they are 
larger and lower ; and the roofs are nearly flat, and 
covered with bamboos split into halves and placed 
side by side, with the concave side upward. Over the . 
edges of these are placed other pieces of bamboo, with 
the concave side downward. This is the only j)lace 
in the archipelago where I have seen this sim|)le and 
easy mode of making a roof. 

April 24:t7i. — ^Finding myself very ill from over- 
exertion during the past two days, and that the next 
two days' journeys must be long and fatiguing, I rest 
here and enjoy the cool, refreshing air of Kopaiyong 
for 'a day. The controleur informs me that the vol- 
canic cone northeast of us w^as formed during an 
eruption which took place only a year ago, and that, 
for some time previous to the eruption, heavy earth- 
quakes occurred here very frequently ; but since the 
gases that were pent up beneath the mountain have 
found a vent, only one earthquake has been expe- 
rienced, and that was very slight. This is the most 
active volcano I have seen. A great quantity of white 
gas is now rising most grandly. At one moment it 
appears like a great sheaf, and at the next instant 
slowly changes into a perpendicular column, and this 
again becomes an immense inverted cone, which 
seems supported in the sky by resting its apex on 
the summit of the volcano beneath it. The Avhole 
amount of trade at this place in a year amounts to 
one hundred thousand guilders (forty thousand dol- 
lars). The traders are Chinamen, Arabs, and a few 
Dutchmen. They obtain from the natives coffee and 
tobacco, and give them in return cotton goods, knives, 



FEOM KOPAIYONG TO KABAN AGONG. 501 

and various kinds of trinkets. The population of 
tMs region appears to be only a small fraction of 
what it is on tlie Padang plateau ; if it were as large 
and industrious, tlie upper valley of tke Musi would 
soon be transformed into one great garden, and Ben- 
coolen, to wliicli its products must be taken to be 
shipped abroad, would immediately become a port 
of tlie first im]3ortance. I had seriously contem- 
plated undertaking the journey from Solok to this 
place, and if it had not been necessary for me to re- 
turn to Padang, I should have attempted it, notwith 
standing it would have been necessary to have trav- 
elled the whole distance on foot, and to have met 
constant hinderances and annoyances from the natives, 
who are extremely jealous of all foreigners. The 
distance from Solok, in a straight line, is nearly two 
hundred geographical miles, but by the zigzag and 
circuitous route which I. would have been obliged to 
take, it would have been nearly three hundred. 

The house of the conti-oleur at this place is cov- 
ered with an ataj) of bamboo splints, made in the 
same way as the common atap of palm-leaves, but it 
is much neater, and said to be far more durable. 

April 25th. — As there are no white people at the 
place where I am to lodge to-night, the controleur 
was so kind as to send a servant yesterday with an 
ample supply of eatables, and orders to the rajahs on 
the way to receive me kindly when I reached their 
respective villages. 

At 6 A. M. started with a guide and a coolie for 
Kaban Agong, a distance of nine paals in a southeast- 
erly direction, along the Musi, which, in this part of 



503 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

its course, is only a small stream witli sliglit falls at 
short distances. The valley soutli of Kopaiyong 
may be quite v^ide, but "we soon passed into sucIl a 
dense jungle tliat I v^as unable to obtain any view 
of tlie mountains on either hand. Kaban Agong is 
a small kampong of twenty or twenty-five houses, 
and, except the two or three occasionally seen near 
each other in the cleared places, or ladangs, the 
whole country is an unbroken wilderness. 

The houses of the village were quite regularly 
arranged in two rows, and in the middle of the street 
between them is a small circular house, with open 
sides, and seats around it for the coolies, who are 
travelling to and fro, to stop and rest under a shelter 
from the sunshine. Here the rajah received me, and 
brought such fruits as his people raised. The coolie, 
who marched beside my horse, carried my Spencer's 
breech-loader, which I had been careful to have 
ready loaded and capped. It caused the natives to 
manifest the greatest respect for us, esj)ecially when 
my servants declared that I needed only to j)iit it to 
my shoulder, pull the trigger, and there would be a 
constant stream of bullets. From Kaban Agong to 
Tanjong Agong (eight paals) we passed over a more 
open and hilly country. The road here diverged 
from the left bank of the Musi, and took a more east- 
erly course. Here more sawas appeared, but the 
people are in great poverty. Many of the hills are 
covered with the common rank prairie-grass, which 
we saw covering large areas in the northwest part 
of the Mandeling Valley, and in many other places. 

In such open prairies the sun poured down a most 



NATIVES DESTROYED BY THE TIGERS. 503 

scorclimg heat, and even my Malay attendants com- 
plained bitterly ; indeed, I find I can bear sucL. 
excessive beat better than tbey. From tbe tops 
of tbe low bills I enjoyed fine views of tbe Barizan 
or coast cbain. Tbe outline of many of its peaks 
sbows tbat tbey were formerly eruj^tive cones, but 
now tbey are more or less wasbed down or cbanged 
in form by rains and streams. As we came near tbis 
village, Tanjong Agong, tbe road was filled witb tbe 
tracks and excrements of a berd of elepbants tbat 
passed tbis way yesterday or tbe day before. Two 
days ago two of tbese beasts came into tbe sawas, 
near tbis place, and tbe natives succeeded in sboot- 
ing one. Tanjong Agong is a small village, of only 
eigbteen or twenty small bouses, eacb of wbicb is 
placed on posts six or eigbt feet bigb. A ladder leads 
up to a landing, wbicb is enclosed by a fence and a 
gate, to prevent tbe tigers from entering tbeir bouses. 
Tbe natives keep bens, and would bave dogs, but tbey 
are all destroyed by tbe tigers. Tbese ravenous beasts 
infest tbe wbole region in sucb numbers, and are so 
daring, tbat tbe rajab, wbo can speak Malay very well, 
assures me tbat, during last year, five of tbe people 
of tbis little village were torn to pieces by tbem 
wbile working in tbe sawas, or wbile travelling to 
tbe neighboring kampongs. No native bere ever 
tbinks of going even tbe shortest distance by nigbt, 
except wben sent on tbe most ui'gent business ; and 
it is cbiefly for tbis reason tbat I always commence 
my day's journey so early. 

Tbe bouse in wbicb I lodge is built of bamboo, 
and surrounded witb a paling of sharpened stakes, 



504: TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

wticli also include tte stable. It lias lately been 
built by order of the Dutcli Goyernment for the ac- 
commodation of any official or other foreigner trav- 
elling in this country. Before the paling was com- 
pleted, the controleur of the district visited this 
place, and put his horse into the stable. At mid- 
night he heard a load howling and neighing, and the 
natives shouting out to each other to come with their 
arms. A tiger had come out of the adjoining forest, 
and had sprung upon his horse from behind, and the 
natives were attacking him with their lances. He 
lost his horse, but had the privilege of carrying away 
the tiger's skin. Those who complain of the scarcity 
of game ought to come here. It is not by any means 
inaccessible, and both tigers and elephants are ex- 
ceedingly abundant. 

April 26^A. — At 6| a. m. continued on through a 
more open and somewhat cultivated country. The 
Musi here makes a great bend to the southwest, and 
the path leads eastward over a gently-rising eleva- 
tion, on the top of which is a large and most 
thriving coffee-garden, and near by are rice-iields 
which yield abundantly. This garden has been 
very lately planted, and yet all the trees that are old 
enough to bear are nearly loaded down with fruit. 
The rice-fields show that an abundance of food could 
be raised here, and the only thing that is wanting is 
peo]3le to do the work. The elevated situation of 
this country makes it very healthy for foreigners. 
If any one could obtain a grant of land here, and 
also the privilege of bringing a large number of 
Chinamen, he would certainly realize a fortune, for 



SOURCE OF SUMATRA'S WEALTH. 505 

coffee can be liere cultivated witli little care, and rice, 
the staple article of food among tliat people, can be 
raised in any quantity. Sucli a privilege could not 
be obtained at present, but the liberal tendency of 
the government of the Netherlands India promises 
that it may be, at no distant time in the future. 
Such an enterprise would not have the character of 
an experiment, for the facility with which coffee and 
rice can be grown has already been shown on this 
plantation, and the cost of transporting it to Padang 
or Palembang would be very light. Sumatra un- 
doubtedly contains large quantities of gold, but the 
true source of her wealth is not the precious metal 
she possesses, but the crops of coffee she produces. 

From the toj) of this mountain I took my last 
view of the Barizan chain, which had been constant- 
ly in sight since I passed through the Strait of Sun- 
da on my way to Padang. In the ladangs in this 
region the walls of the huts of the natives are mostly 
made of bark. While coming down from this low 
mountain-range, we had a splendid view up a valley 
to the southward, and of the low but sharply-crested 
chain which limits on the south the area drained by 
the Musi. At the foot of this elevation a stream 
courses southward to the Musi, and on its banks are a 
native village, and a Dutch post and fort. Here, as 
elsewhere, I rode up to the house of the controleiir^ 
whom I had previously notified of my coming. He 
had gone a number of miles southward, to the limit 
of his district and the Pasuma country, where I now 
learned a war was going on. His good lady was at 
home, and, to my great surprise, welcomed me in 



506 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

pure Englisli. To be able to converse in tlie in- 
terior of Sumatra, in my native tongue, was indeed a 
pleasure I had not anticipated. The distance from 
Tanjong Agong to this place is eleven paals, about 
ten miles. 

April ^^th. — Continued down the north bank of 
the Musi, which here flows to the northwest. For 
three or four paals the path (for it cannot properly 
be styled a road) was very narrow, and built on the 
steep side of a mountain, at the foot of which the 
Musi boils in a series of rapids. When within six 
or seven miles of Tebing Tingi, we found the valley 
much broken, and soon it became flat, and changed 
in many places into morasses. Here we came to a 
small stream, over which was a bamboo bridge^ 
sup]3orted by rattans fastened to the limbs of two 
high, overhanging trees. This was so weak that 
my guide directed me to dismount and j)ass on 
foot. At 2 A. M. we arrived at Tebing Tingi, 
where an assistant resident is stationed, who re- 
ceived me politely, and urged me to remain with 
him several days. Distance made to-day, seventeen 
paals. The whole distance from Kopaiyong to this 
place, forty -five paals, I have travelled with the 
single horse given me by the controleur of that vil- 
lage. Such is the generous manner in which the 
Dutch oflicials treat those who come to them prop- 
erly recommended by the higher authorities. 

After crossing the Barizan chain, and coming 
down into this valley of the Musi, I have noticed 
that the natives are of a lighter color, taller, and 
more gracefully formed than those seen in the vicin- 



THE ANAK GADIS. 50^ 

ity of Bencoolen. The men always carry a kris or 
a lance when they go from one kampong to' an- 
other. The same laws and customs j^i'evail here as 
in the vicinity of Bencoolen, except that the jugui', 
or price of a bride, is considerably higher. The anak 
gadis here also wear many rings of large silver wire 
on the forearm, and gold beads on the wrist, in 
token of their virginity. The Resident states to me 
that the native population does not appear to in- 
crease in this region, and that the high price of the 
brides is the chief reason. As the price is paid to the 
girl's parents, and not to herself, she has less induce- 
ment to conduct herself in accordance with their 
wishes ; and, to avoid the natural consequences of 
their habits, the anak gadis are accustomed to take 
very large doses of pepper, which is mixed with 
salt, in order to be swallowed more easily. Many 
are never married, and most of those who are, bear 
but two or three children, after they have subjected 
themselves to such severe treatment in their youth. 

April '2^th. — Rode five or six paals up the Musi, 
and then crossed it at the foot of a rapid on a 
" racket," or raft of bamboo, the usual mode of fer- 
rying in this island. In the centre of the raft is 
a kind of platform, where the passenger sits. One 
native stands at the bow, and one at the stern, each 
having a long bamboo. The racket is then drawn 
up close to the foot of the rapids, and a man keeps 
her head to the stream, while the other pushes her 
over. As soon as she leaves the bank, away she 
shoots down the current, despite the shouts and ex- 
ertions of both. We were carried down so swiftly. 



508 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

tliat I beo-an to fear we should come into anotlier 
rapid, wliere our frail raft would have been washed 
to pieces among the foaming rocks in a moment: 
but at last they succeeded in stopping her, and we 
gained the opposite bank. Thence my guide took 
me through a morass, which was covered with a 
dense jungle, an admirable place for crocodiles, and 
they do not fail to frequent it in large numbers; 
but the thousands of leeches formed a worse pest. 
In one place, about a foot square, in the path, I think 
I saw as many as twenty, all stretching and twisting 
themselves in every direction in search of 23rey. They 
are small, being about an inch long, and a tenth of an 
inch in diameter, before they gorge themselves mth 
the blood of some unfortunate animal that chances to 
pass. They tormented me in a most shocking man- 
ner. Every ten or fifteen minutes I had to stop and 
rid myself of perfect anklets of them. 

I was in search of a coral-stone, which the natives 
of this region burn for lime. My attendants, as well 
as myself, were so tormented with the leeches, that 
we could not remain long in that region, but I saw it 
was nothing but a raised reef, chiefly composed of 
comminuted coral, in which were many large hemi- 
spherical meandrinas. The strata, where they could 
be distinguished, were seen to be nearly horizontal. 
Large blocks of coral are scattered about, just as on 
the present reefs, but the jungle was too thick to 
travel in far, and, as soon as we had gathered a few 
shells, we hurried to the Musi, and rode back seven 
miles in a heavy, drenching rain. 

All the region we have been travelling in to-day 



TROOPS OF MONKEYS. 509 

abounds in rhinoceroses, elepliants, and deer. If tlie 
leeclies attack tliem as they did a dog tliat followed 
us, they must prove one of the most eificient means 
of destroying those large animals. It is at least for- 
tunate for the elephant and rhinoceros that they are 
pachyderms. While passing through the places 
where the jungle is mostly composed of l3amboos, 
we saw several large troops of small, slate-colored 
monkeys, and, among the taller trees, troops of an- 
other species of a light-yellow color, with long arms 
and long tails. On the morning that I left Tanjong 
Agong, as we passed a tall tree by the roadside, the 
natives cautioned me to keep quiet, for it was " full 
of monkeys," and, when we were just under it, 
they all set up a loud shout, and at once a whole 
troop sprang out of its high branches like a flock of 
birds. Some came down twenty-five or thirty feet 
before they struck on the tops of the small trees be- 
neath them, and yet each would recover, and go off 
through the jungle, with the speed of an arrow, in 
a moment. 

While nearly all animals have a particular area 
which they frequent — as the low coast region, the 
plateaus of these tropical lands, or the higher parts of 
the mountains — the rhinoceros lives indifferently any- 
where between the sea-shores and the tops of the high- 
est peaks. This species has two " horns," the first being 
the longer and more sharply j^ointed, but the Java 
species has only one. The natives here know nothing 
of the frequent combats between these animals and 
ele|)hants, that are so frequently pictured in popular 
works on natural history. The Resident has, how- 



510 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

ever, told me of a combat between two otlier rivals 
of tliese forests tliat is more remarkable. When lie 
was controleur at a small post, a sliort distance nortli 
of tliis place, a native came to Mm one morning, and 
asked, if lie should find a dead tiger and bring its 
head, whether he would receive the usual bounty 
given by the government. The Resident assured 
him that he would, and the native then explained 
that there had evidently been a battle between two 
tigers in the woods, near his kampong, for all had 
heard their howls and cries, and they were fighting 
so lono; that, he had no doubt, one was left dead on 
the sj)ot. A party at once began a hunt for the ex- 
pected prize, and soon they found the battle had not 
been between two tigers, as they had supposed, but 
between a tiger and a bear, and that both were dead. 
The bear was still hugging the tiger, and the tiger 
had reached round, and fastened his teeth in the side 
of the bear's neck. The natives then gathered some 
rattan, wound it round them, just as they were, strung 
them to a long bamboo, and brought them to the 
office of the Resident, who gave a full account of this 
strange combat in his next official report. 

These bears are popularly called " sun " bears, 
Helarctos Malay amis ^ from their habit of basking 
in the hot sunshine, while other bears slink away 
from the full light of day into some shady place. 
The Resident at Bencoolen had a young cub that was 
very tame. Its fur was short, fine, and glossy. It 
was entirely black, except a crescent-shaped spot of 
white on its breast, which characterizes the species. 

Governor Raffles, while at Bencoolen, also had a 



FROM TEBING TINGI TO BUNGA MAS. ' 511 

tame one, wliicli was very fond of mangostins, and 
only lost its good-nature wlien it came to the table, 
and was not treated with champagne. When fully 
grown, it is only four and a half feet long. It is 
herbivorous, and particularly fond of the young 
leaves of the cocoa-nut palm, and is said to destroy 
many of those valuable trees to gratify its appetite. 

April 2)0tli. — At 6 a. jvi. commenced the last stage 
of my journey on horseback. My course now was 
from Tebing Tingi, on the Musi, in a southeasterly 
direction, to Lahat, the head of navigation on the 
Limatang. The distance between these two places is 
about forty paals, considerably farther than it would 
be from Tebing Tingi down the Musi to the head of 
navigation on that river ; but I prefer to take this 
route, in order to learn something of the localities of 
coal on the Limatang and its branches, and of the 
unexplored Pasuma country. We crossed the Musi 
on a raft, and at once the road took us into a forest, 
which continued with little interruption all the way 
to Bunga Mas, a distance of twenty-four paals. Most 
of this forest rises out of a dense undergrowth, in 
which the creeping stems and prickly leaves of rattans 
were seen. These are various species of Calamus^ 
a genus of palms that has small, reed-like, trailing 
stems, which are in strange contrast to the erect and 
rigid trunks of the cocoa-nut, the areca, the palmetto, 
and other palms. It seems paradoxical to call this a 
palm, and the high, rigid bamboo a sj)ecies of grass. 
When they are growing, the stem is sheathed in the 
bases of so many leaves that it is half an inch in di- 
ameter. When these are stripped off, a smooth, reed- 



512 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

like stem of a straw-color is found within, wliicli be- 
comes yellow as it dries. Tlie first half-mile of the 
road we travelled to-day was completely ploughed 
up by elephants which passed along two days ago 
during a heavy rain. The piles of their excrements 
were so numerous that it seems they use it as a 
stall. Every few moments we came upon their 
tracks. In one place they had completely brushed 
away the bridge over a small stream, Avhere they 
went down to ford it ; for, though they always try to 
avail themselves of the cleared road when they travel 
to and fro among these forests, they are too saga- 
cious to trust themselves on the frail bridges. 

In the afternoon, the small boughs which they 
had lately broken off became more numerous as we 
advanced, and their leaves were of a livelier green. 
We were evidently near a herd, for leaves wilt in a 
short time under this tropical sun. Soon after, we 
came into a thicker part of the forest, where many 
tall trees threw out high, overarching branches, 
which effectually shielded us from the scorching sun, 
while the dry leaves they had shed quite covered the 
road. 

Several natives had joined us, for they always 
travel in company through fear of the tigers. While 
we were passing through the dark wood, suddenly 
a heavy crashing began in the thick jungle about 
twenty paces from where I was riding. A native, 
who was walking beside my horse with ,my rifle 
capped and cocked, handed it to me in an instant, 
but the jnngle Avas so thick that it was impossible 
to see any thing, and I did not propose to fire until 



WE COME UPON AN ELEPHANT. 513 

I could see tlie foreliead of my game. All set up a 
loud, prolonged yell, and tlie beast slowly retreated, 
and allowed us to proceed unmolested. The natives 
are not afraid of whole herds of elephants, but they 
dislike to come near a single one. The larger and 
stronger males sometimes drive off all their weaker 
rivals, which are apt to wreak their vengeance on 
any one they chance to meet. Beyond this was a 
more open country, and in the road Avere scattered 
many small trees that had been torn up by a herd, 
ap]3arently this very morning. 

Although they are so abundant here in Sumatra, 
there are none found in Java. They occur in large 
numbers on the Malay Peninsula, and there is good 
reason to suppose they exist in the wild state in the 
northern parts of Borneo. This is regarded as dis- 
tinct fi^om the Asiatic and African species, and has 
been named JElejplias Sumatrensis. 

Three paals before we came to Bunga Mas, a 
heavy rain set in and continued until we reached 
that place. Our road crossed a number of streams 
that had their sources on the flanks of the moun- 
tains on our right, and in a short time their torrents 
were so swollen that my horse could scarcely ford 
them. Bunga Mas is a dusun^ or village, on a cliff 
by a small river which flows toward the north. Near 
the village is a- stockade fort, where we arrived 
at half-past six. The caj)tain gave me comfortable 
quarters, and I was truly thankful to escape the 
storm and the tigers without, and to rest after more 
than twelve hours in the saddle. 

This evening the captain has shown me the skin 

33 



514 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

of a large tiger, wBicli, a short tinie since, killed three 
natives in four nights at this place. The village is 
surrounded hj a stockade to keep out these ravenous 
beasts, and the gate is guarded at night by a native 
armed with a musket. One evening this tigress stole 
up behind the guard, sprang upon him, and, as a na- 
tive said who chanced to see it, killed him instantly 
with a blow of her paw on the back of his neck. 
She then caught him up and rau away mth him. 
The next day the body was found partly eaten, and 
was buried very deeply to keep it out of her reach. 
The second evening she seized and carried off a na- 
tive who was bathing in the stream at the foot of the 
cliff. The captain now found he must try to destroy 
her, and therefore loaded a musket with a very heavy 
charge of powder and two bullets. The gun was 
then, lashed firmly to a tree, and a large piece of fresh 
meat was fastened to the muzzle, so that when she 
attempted to take it away she would discharge the 
piece, and receive both bullets. The next morning 
they found a piece of her tongue on the ground 
near the muzzle of the gim, and the same trap was 
set again ; but the next night she came back and 
took away a second man on guard at the gate of the 
dusu7i. The captain now started with a corporal 
and eight men, determined to hunt her down. They 
tracked her to a place filled with tall grass, and clos- 
ing round that, slowly advanced, until, two or three 
of them heard a growl, when they all fired and killed 
her instantly. It proved to be a female, and she had 
evidently been so daring for the purpose of i)rocuring 
food for her young. 



AMONG TIGERS. 5^5 

May Is^.— Tjie rain continued througli tlie night, 
and only cleared away at daylight. In twQ hours 
I started, though I found myself ill from such con- 
tinued exertion and exposure to a burning sun and 
drenching rains, and, more than all, from drinking so 
many different kinds of water in a single day. I was 
accompanied by a soldier who was one of the eight 
who went out to hunt the tigress that killed so many 
natives in such a short time. He repeated to me all 
the details of the whole matter, and assured me that 
a piece of the brute's tongue was found on the ground 
just as the captain said, and that, when they had se- 
cured her, they found that a part of her tongue was 
gone. 

We had not travelled more than half a mile be- 
fore we came upon the tracks of two tigers, a" large 
one and a small one, probably a female and her 
young, which had passed along the road in the same 
way we were going. The perfect impressions left by 
their feet showed they had walked along that road 
since the rain had ceased, and therefore not more 
than two hours before us, and possibly not more than 
ten minutes. We expected to see them at almost every 
turn in the road, and we all kept together and pro- 
ceeded with the greatest caution till the sun was high 
and it was again scorching hot. At such times these 
dangerous beasts always retreat into the cool jungle. 

For eight paals from Bunga Mas the road was 
more hilly than it was yesterday. In many places 
the sides of the little valley between the ridges were 
so steep that steps were made in the slippery clay 
for the natives, who always travel on foot. Seven paals 



516 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

out, we liad a fine view of tlie Pasuma country. It 
is a plateau wliicli spreads out to the southeast and 
east from the feet of the great Dempo, the highest 
and most magnificent mountain in all this region. The 
lower part of this volcano appeared in all its details, 
but thick clouds unfortunately concealed its summit. 
Considerable quantities of opaque gases are said to 
have ]30ured out of its crater, but it does not a23pear 
to have undergone any great eruption since the 
Dutch established themselves in this region. It is 
the most southern and eastern of the many active 
volcanoes on this island. Like the Merapi in the 
Padang plateau, the Dempo does not rise in the 
Barizan chain nor in one parallel to it, but in a trans- 
verse range. Here there is no high chain parallel to 
the Barizan, as there is at Kopaiyong, where the Musi 
takes its rise, and also north of Mount Ulu Musi con- 
tinuously through the Korinchi country all the way 
to the Batta Lands. Another and a longer transverse 
elevation appears in the chain which forms the bound- 
ary between this residency of Palembang and that of 
Lampong, and which is the water-shed, extending in 
a northeasterly direction from Lake Panau to the Java 
Sea. The height of Mount Dempo has been variously 
estimated at from ten thousand to twelve thousand 
feet, but I judge that it is not higher than the Merapi, 
and that its summit therefore is not more than nine 
thousand five hundred feet above the level of the sea. 
The Pasuma plateau is undoubtedly the most 
densely-peopled area in this part of the island. Its 
soil is described to me, by those who have seen it, as 
exceedingly fertile, and quite like that of the Musi 



THE PASUMA PEOPLE. 517 

valley at Ivopaiyong, but the natives of that country 
were extremely poor, wMle tlie Pasumas raise an 
abundance of rice and keep many fowls. During tlie 
past few years they have raised potatoes and many 
sorts of European vegetables, which they sold to the 
Dutch before the war began. The cause of the pres- 
ent difficulty was a demand made by the Dutch Gov- 
ernment that the Pasuma chiefs should acknowledge 
its supremacy, which they have all refused to do. 
The villages or fortified places of the Pasumas are 
located on the tops of hills, and they fight with so 
much determination that they have already repulsed 
the Dutch once from one of their forts with a very 
considerable loss. No one, however, entertains a 
doubt of the final result of this campaign, for their 
fortifications are poor defences against the mortars 
and other ordnance of the Dutch. 

Soon after the tracks of the two tigers disap- 
peared, we came to a kind of rude stockade fort, 
where a guard of native militia are stationed. The 
paling, however, is more for a protection against the 
tigers than the neighboring Pasumas. A number of 
the guard told me that they hear the tigers howl here 
every night, and that frequently they come up on the 
hill and walk round the paling, looking for a chance 
to enter ; and I have no doubt their assertions were 
entirely true, for when we had come to the foot of 
the hill the whole road was covered with tracks. 
The natives, who, from long experience, have remark- 
able skill in tracing these beasts, said that three 
different ones had been there since the rain ceased ; 
but one who has not been accustomed to examine such 



518 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

tracks would have judged tliat half a dozen tigers liad 
passed tliat wa^^ Tliere are but a few native houses 
here at a distance from the villages in the ladangs, 
and those are all perched on posts twelve or fifteen 
feet high, and reached by a ladder or notched stick, 
in order that those dwelling in them may be safer 
from the tigers. 

At noon we came down into a fertile valley sur- 
rounded with mountains in the distance, and at 2 
p. M. arrived at Lahat, a pretty native village on the 
banks of the Limatano;. The controleur stationed 
here received me politely, and engaged a boat to take 
me down the Limatang to Palembang, The Lima- 
tang takes its rise up in the Pasuma country, and 
Lahat, being at the head of navigation on this river, 
is an important point. A strong fort has been built 
here, and is constantly garrisoned with one or two 
companies of soldiers. One night Avhile I was there, 
there was a general alarm that a strong body of 
Pasumas had been discovered reconnoitring the vil- 
lage, and immediately every possible preparation was 
made to receive them. The cause of the alarm proved 
to be, that one of the Javanese soldiers stationed out- 
side the fort stated that he saw two natives skulking 
in the shrubbery near him, and that he heard them 
consulting whether it was best to attack him, because, 
as was true, his gun was not loaded. The mode of 
attack that the Pasumas adopt is to send forward a 
few of their braves to set fire to a village, Avhile the 
main body remains near by to make attack as soon as 
the confusion caused by the fire begins. This is un- 
doubtedly the safest and most effectual mode of at- 



HORSEBACK TRAVEL OVER. 5]^9 

tacking a kampong, as tlie liouses of tlie natives are 
mostly of bamboo, and if tliere is a fresli breeze and 
one or two liuts can be fired to v^indv^ard, tlie wliole 
village will soon be in a blaze. Thougli this seems 
to us a dastardly mode of warfare, the Pasumas are 
justly famed for tkeir Mgli sense of honor, tlieir 
bitterest enemy being safe wlien lie comes and intrusts 
Mmself entirely to tlieir protection. When the Dutch 
troops arrived here, an official, who had frequently 
been up into their country, volunteered to visit the 
various kampongs and try to induce them to submit, 
and in every place he was well received and all his 
wants cared for, though none of the chiefs would, for 
a moment, entertain his j)roposals. 

My journey on horseback was finished. The dis- 
tance by the route taken from Bencoolen is about 
one hundred and twenty paals, or one hundred and 
twelve miles, but I had travelled considerably farther 
to particular localities that were off the direct route. 
I had chanced to make the journey at just the 
right time of year. The road is good enough for 
padatis and to transport light artillery. For most 
of the time a tall, rank grass fills the whole road ex- 
cept a narrow footpath, but the government obliges 
the natives living near this highway to cut off the 
grass and repair the bridges once a year, and I chanced 
to begin my journey just as most of this work was 
finished. The bridges are generally made of bamboo, 
and can therefore be used for only a short time after 
they are repaired. Indeed, in many places, they are 
frequently swept away altogether, and are not rebuilt 
until the next year. From what I have already re- 



520 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

corded, tliose wlio glory in liunting dangerous game 
may conclude tliat they cannot do better than to visit 
tMs part of Sumatra. To reacli it they should come 
from Singapore to Muntok on the island of Banca, and 
thence over to Palembang, where the Resident of all 
this region resides, and obtain from him letters to 
his sub-officers in this vicinity. From Palembang 
they should come up the Musi and Limatang to Lahat, 
when they will find themselves in a most magnificent 
and healthy country, and one literally abounding 
in game. 



CHAPTER XYII. 

PALEMBA]SrG, BANCA, AND SIISTGAPOEE. 

May Uli. — At 7 a. m. I bade my host, the contro- 
leur^ good-by, and began to glide down tlie Lima- 
tang for Palembang. 

It was a cool, clear morning, and I enjoyed a fine 
view of Mount Denipo and the other high peaks near 
it. The current at first was so rapid that the only 
care of my men was, to keep the boat from striking 
•on the many bars of sand and shingle. To do this, 
one stood forward and one aft, each provided with a 
long bamboo. We soon shot into a series of foaming 
rapids, and here the river bent so abruptly to the 
right and left that I thought we should certainly be 
dashed against a ragged, precipitous wall of rock that 
formed the right bank at that place, but we passed 
safely by, though the stern of the boat only passed 
clear by a few inches. My boat was about twenty 
feet long and five broad, flat-bottomed, and made of 
thin plank. Its central part was covered over with 
roof of atap, like the sampans in China, and on this 
was another sliding roof, which could be hauled for- 
ward to protect the rowers from rain or sunshine. 
From Lahat to the mouth of the Inem River relays of 



522 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

natives stood ready on tlie bank to guide our boat. 
This service tliey render tlie Dutcli Government in- 
stead of paying a direct tax in money. 

A sliort distance below Laliat, on the riglit bank, 
is a remarkably needle-like peak called Bukit Sirilo. 
Near tMs kill the Limatang makes a long bend to tke 
north, and after we had left it two or three miles be- 
hind us I was quite surprised to find we had turned 
sharply round, and that it was now two or three 
miles before us. A short distance above the Sirilo 
we passed a fine outcropping of coal in the left bank. 
The government engineers have examined it, and 
found it to be soft and bituminous, but containing 
too large a proportion of incombustible matter to be 
of any great value. The strata dip toward the coast. 
The Resident of Tebing Tingi informed me that a 
similar coal is found on the Musi below that place. 
I believe that strata of recent limestone, containing 
corals, which I observed above Tebing Tingi, under- 
lie this coal, and that it is, therefore, of very recent 
geological age. At 4 p. m. we came to Muara Inem, 
a large kampong of two thousand souls, on the Inem, 
at its juncture with the Limatang. Here I had the 
pleasure of meeting the controleur, whom I had met 
in the Minahassa, and who had been my fellow-trav- 
eller from Celebes to Java. During the latter third 
of my way down the Limatang to this point, the 
country is well peopled, and forms a marked contrast 
with the sparsely-populated regions through which I 
have been travelling since leaving Bencoolen. 

At one kampong we saw three women in a small, 
flat-bottomed canoe, each sitting erect and paddling 



EAFTS OF COCOA-NUTS. 523 

witli botli hands. In tliis way tliey crossed tlie river 
witli a surprising rapidity, considering tlie simple ap- 
paratus tliey used. Tlie readiness witli whicli they 
paddled indicated that this is no very uncommon 
mode of crossing rivers in this land. 

As the villages became larger and more frequent, 
more and more cocoa-nut trees appeared, and soon we 
passed several large bamboo rafts, bearing sheds that 
were fined with this fruit, and in one place two na- 
tives were seen quietly floating down the river on a 
great pile of these nuts in the most complacent 
manner. At first I expected to see the nuts fly 
off in all directions and the men disappear beneath 
the surface of the river, but as we came nearer I saw 
the nuts were fastened together in small bunches by 
strips of their own husks, and these bunches were 
bound into a hemispherical mass large enough to 
float the two men. The nuts on the raft were to 
be taken down to Palembang, where the cocoa-palms 
do not flourish. During the day we saw two or 
three large trooj)S of monkeys. This is a very pleas- 
ant time to pass down these rivers, because they are 
now high, and instead of seeing only walls and bluffs 
of naked mud on either hand, the banks are covered 
with grass down to the water's edge, and the bam- 
boos and trees, that grow here in tropical luxuriance, 
lean over gracefully toward the rapid river, and lave 
the tips of their lowest branches in the passing 
current. 

May ^th. — ^The cont/poleiw kindly took me in his 
large barge, with twenty men to paddle and two men 
to steer, some five miles up the Inem River to Lingga, 



524 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

where there is an outcropping of coal in the river 
bank. The coal found there is very light, almost as 
soft as charcoal, and evidently of a very recent geolo- 
gical age. A similar but somewhat better coal is 
found five or six miles farther up this river. At 
Karang Tingi, three miles up the river from Muara 
Inem, the rajah of that district gave me a bottle of 
petroleum, which is about as thick as tar, and, ac- 
cording to the examinations of the Dutch chemists, 
does not contain much paraf&ne, naphtha, nor material 
suitable for burning in lamps. It is found about six 
miles back from the river. At Karang Tingi we no- 
ticed a number of boys enjoying an odd kind of 
sport. They were sliding down the high slippery 
bank on their naked backs. 

At Muara Inem the controleur showed me a large 
garden filled with trees, from which the " palm-oil " 
is manufactured. It is a low palm, and the fruit is 
not much larger than the betel-nut. I understood 
him to say that it was the JElais Guineensis, and had 
been introduced from the Dutch possessions on the 
west coast of Africa. The oil is contained in the 
husk, and is used in manufacturing soap and candles. 

May Qtli. — ^Very early this morning started with 
the controleur down the Limatang in his barge, with 
twenty men. During last night the river rose here 
foiir or five feet, and the current is now unusually 
strong. From Muara Inem, to where it empties into 
the Musi, it is very crooked, constantly bending to the 
right in nearly equal curves, the current, of course, be- 
ing strongest in the middle of each bend. This con- 
stant curving gives an endless variety to its scenery. 



FLOATING DOWN THE LAMATANG. 525 

The water, being Mgli, enabled us to see tlie cleared 
places tliat occurred from time to time on tlie bank;, 
tliougli generally only a thick wood or dense jungle 
appeared on either hand, yet I never for a moment 
was weary of Avatching the graceful bending of the 
reeds and tall bamboos, and of the varied grouping 
of these with large trees. In two j^laces the river 
makes such long bends, that artificial canals have 
been made across the tongues of land thus formed. 
One of these cuts, which was less than a hundred 
yards long, saved us going round half a mile by the 
river. Every four or five miles we came to a large 
kampong, and exchanged our boatmen for new ones, 
so that all day long we swiftly glided down the 
smooth stream, one relay of men not getting weary 
before they were relieved by another, and the 
strong current also helping us onward. The kam- 
pongs here are free from the filth seen in those 
farther up in the interior. The houses are all placed 
on posts five or six feet high, for sometimes the 
whole country is completely flooded. Many of them 
are built of well-planed boards, and have a roofing 
of tiles. When the sun had become low, we came 
to the large kampong of Baruaiyu. At all these 
villages there is a raft with a house upon it, where 
the boatmen waited for us. Fastening our boat to 
one of these, we took up our quarters in the rajah's 
house. Like those built by our Puritan forefathers, 
it had one long roof and one short one, but it was so 
low that a tall man could scarcely stand up in it any- 
where. The floor, instead of being level, rose in four 
broad steps, and the whole building formed but one 



526 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHirELAGO. 

large apartment witli two small rooms at the rear 
end.. 

May ^tJi. — A severe tootliaclie and the Bites and 
bnzzing of thousands of mosquitoes made me glad to • 
see the dawn once more, and again be floating down 
the river. Before we came to the chief village of 
each district, Avliere we were to exchange boatmen, 
we always met the boat of the rajah of that place, 
and were greeted with shouts and a great din from 
tifas and gongs. 

The rajahs in this region are divided into three 
grades, and their ranks are shown by the small 
hemispherical caps they wear. Those of the highest 
rank have theirs completely covered with figures 
wrought with gold thread ; those of the second 
rank have theirs mostly covered with, such orna- 
ments ; and those of the third rank wear only a 
gold band. They all carry krises of the common ser- 
pentine form. Those that have the wavy lines alike 
on each side of the blade are reo;arded as the most 
valuable. The handles are usually made of whale' s- 
teeth, and very nicely carved ; and the scabbards are 
frec[uently overlaid with gold. Those that have 
been used by famous chiefs are valued at all sorts of 
enormous prices, but are never sold. They also fre- 
quently wear a belt covered with large diamond- 
shaped plates of silver, on which are inscribed verses 
of the Koran, for the natives of this region are prob- 
ably the most zealous and most rigid Mohammedans 
in the archipelago. 

The staple article of food here is rice. They also 
raise much cotton from seed impoi'ted from our 



COTTON. 



527 



Sontliern States. Having gathered it from tlie ripe 
bolls, tliey take out tlie seeds by rimning it between 
two wooden or iron cylinders, which are made to re- 
volve by a treadle, and are so near together, that 
the seeds, which are saved for the next season, can- 
not pass through. The fibres are very short, com- 
pared to the average product raised in our country, 
but it serves a good purpose here, where they make 
it into a coarse thread, which they weave by hand 
into a cloth for kabayas and chilanas. 

The marriage rites and laws here are nearly the 
same as those I have already described at Taba Pa- 
nanjong, except that the price of a bride here is just 
that of a buffalo, or about eighty guilders (thirty-two 
dollars). Unless a young man has a buffalo or other 
possessions of equal value, therefore, he cannot pur- 
chase a wife. Near Baruaiyu there is a peculiar peo- 
ple known as the Eembang people, who live in four 
or five villages at some distance from the fiver. They 
are very willing to learn to read and write their own 
language, but will not allow themselves to be taught 
Dutch or Malay. Last night the river rose still 
higher, and now it has overflowed its banks, which 
appear much lower than they are between Lamat 
and Muara Inem. During the day we have had 
several showers. At 5 p. m. we arrived at Sungi 
Rotan, the last village on the Lam.atang before its 
confluence with the Musi. It is a small and poor 
village, the land here being generally too low for 
rice, and the cocoa-nut palms yielding but little 
compared to what they do higher up. Farther 
down toward Palembang they yield still less. This 



528 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN AECHIPELAGO. 

is the limit of tlie controleur'' s district in this direc- 
tion. It extends but a sliort distance up tlie Inem 
and np tlie Limatang above Muara Inem, and yet it 
contains no less tliat ninety-one thousand souls. 

The controleur came here to settle a difficulty be- 
.tween the people of this and a neighboring village. 
The other party had occupied a portion of the rice- 
lands belonging to this people, and the trouble had 
risen to such a pitch, that the government had to in- 
terfere, to prevent them from beginning a war. I said 
to the rajah that, beyond Lamat, I had passed for 
miles through a beautiful country, and that it seemed 
to me he would do well to migrate there ; but he evi- 
dently disliked such a suggestion, and the controleur 
ashed me not to urge him to adopt my view, for fear 
that he might think the government designed send- 
ing him there, and because he and all his people 
would rather die than go to live in any distant re- 
gion. 

May %tli. — At 6| a. m. started for Palembang. 
My own boat, which I sent on directly from Muara 
Inem, arrived here yesterday a few hours before us, 
having been three days in coming down the same 
distance that we have made in two. We soon sto|)ped 
at the request of one of the boatmen to examine a 
small bamboo box which he had set in a neighboring 
bayou for crav/iish. Several were found in it. Their 
eyes seemed to emit flashes of light, and appeared to 
be spherical jewels of a light-scarlet hue. I found 
them palatable when roasted. The boatmen also 
found some AmpuUariw., which they said they were 
accustomed to eat, and I found them palatable also. 



FROM PURGATORY TO PARADISE. ' 529 

We soon floated out of tlie narrow Limatang into 
tlie wide and sluggisli Musi, and clianged our course 
from nortli to east. There are great quantities of 
rattan along tlie lower part of the Limatang and the 
Musi, and the natives gather only a small fraction of 
what they might if they were not so indolent. Last 
night, at Sungi Kotan, the mosquitoes proved a worse 
pest than the night before, and they have continued 
to annoy us all day. 

In the afternoon I had a slight attack of fever, 
almost the only one I have had since I was ill im- 
mediately after my arrival in Batavia, a few days 
more than a year ago. After three large doses of 
quinine I fell aslee]3, my boatmen saying that we 
should not reach Palembang till morning, which en- 
tirely agreed with my own wishes, as I did not care 
to call during the evening on the assistant Resident, 
w^hom I had already notified of my coming. When 
the last dose had disappeared I soon became oblivious 
to all real things, and was only troubled with the 
torturing images seen in a fever-dream. While these 
hideous forms were still before my mind's eye, I was 
suddenly aroused by a loud noise, and, while yet 
half awake, was dazzled by a bright light on the 
water, and, on looking out, saw that we were near a 
large house. On the brilliantly-lighted portico above 
us were festoons of flowers, and, while I was yet 
gazing in wonder, inspiriting music sprang up and 
couple after couple whirled by in the mazy waltz. I 
put my hand up to my head to assure myself that I 
was not 'the victim of some hallucination, and my 
boatmen, apparently j)erceiving my state of mind, in- 

34 



530 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

formed me tliat we liad arrived at Palembang, and 
tliat a sister of one of tlie officials had lately been 
married, and her brother was celebrating the happy 
occasion by gi\dng a grand " feast," or, as we should ■ 
say, a ball. 

The bright light, the enlivening music, and the 
constant hum of haj)py voices, instantly banished all 
possibility of my entertaining the thought of remaining 
for the night in my dark, narrow cabin ; and at once, 
with no other light whatever than that reflected on 
the water from the bright ballroom, I prepared my- 
self to meet the Resident in full dress. He was 
greatly surprised to see me at such a late hour, but 
received me in a most cordial manner, and' at once 
commenced introducing me to the host and hostess, 
the bride and bridegroom, and all the assembled 
guests. The chills and burning fever, from which I 
had been suffering, vanished, and in a moment I 
found myself transferred from a real purgatory into 
a perfect paradise. 

Palembang occupies both banks of the Musi for 
four or five miles, but there are only three or four 
rows of houses on each bank. Many of these houses 
were built on bamboo rafts, and, when the tide is 
high, the city seems to be built on a plain, but at low 
water it appears to be built in a valley. The tide 
here usually rises and falls nine or ten feet, but in 
spring fourteen feet. This is the greatest rise and 
fall that I have seen in the archipelago. It is said 
that in the river Pakan, which empties into the Strait 
of Malacca, at spring tides the water comes in with a 
bore and rises thirty feet. The principal part of Pa- 




WOMEN OF PALEMBANG. 



From a photograph. 




PALEMBANG, AT HIGH WATER. 



p. 630. 



From a photograph. 



PALEMBANG. 5 31 

lembang is built on the left bank. There are a large 
and well-constructed fort, and the houses of the Resi- 
dent, assistant E-esident, and other officials. The 
Resident and the colonel commanding the fort are 
now in the Pasuma country. On the left bank is the 
Chinese quarter, and very fine imitations of the more 
common tropical fruits are made there in lacquer- 
ware by those people. Below the fort, on the right 
bank, is the large market, where we saw a magnifi- 
cent display of krises, and enormous quantities of 
fruit. The name Palembang, or, more correctly, Pa- 
limbangan, is of Javanese origin, and signifies " the 
place where the draining ofi^ was done." The " drain- 
ing off" is the same phrase as that used to describe 
water running out of the open-work baskets, in which 
gold is washed, and the word Palembang is regarded 
generally as equivalent to " gold- washing " in our 
language. The Javanese origin of the first settlers in 
this region is further shown by the title of the native 
officials and the names of various localities in the vi- 
cinity. The natives have a tradition that Palembang 
was founded by the Javanese government of Majapa- 
hit, but the Portuguese state that it was founded two 
hundred and fifty years before their arrival, or about 
A.D. 1250. 

Back of the Resident's house is a mosque with 
pilasters and a dome, and near by a minaret, about 
fifty feet high, with a winding external staircase. It 
is by far the finest piece of native architecture that I 
have seen in these islands, and is said to be decidedly 
superior to any of the old temples in Java. Its his- 
tory appears to be lost, but I judge it was built not 



532 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

Ions: after tlie arrival of tie Portus-uese. The arcM- 
tects were probably not natives, but the Arabs, who 
have not only traded with this people, but succeeded 
in converting them to Mohammedanism. Palembang 
Lama, or Old Palembang, is situated on the left bank, 
a mile or two below the fort. Landing with the na- 
tives under a waringin-tree, I followed a narrow path 
over the low land for a mile, and came to the grave 
of a native queen. All possible virtues are ascribed 
to her by the natives, and many were on their way 
to this shrine to make vows and repeat their Moham- 
medan formulas, or were already returning home- 
ward. Those who were going stopped at a little vil- 
lage by the way to purchase bunches of a kind of 
balm which they placed in the tomb. After meet- 
ing with many worshippers, I was quite surprised to 
find the grave was only protected by an old wooden 
building. The coffin was a rectangular jDiece of 
wood, about a foot and a half wide, and five feet 
long, in which was inserted at the head and foot a 
small square post, about two feet high. Near the 
grave of the queen were those of her nearest relatives. 
This is regarded as the oldest grave that can be iden- 
tified in this vicinity. It is supposed to have the 
power to shield its worshippers from sickness and all 
kinds of misfortune. The Mohammedanism of this 
people, therefore, even when it is purest, is largely 
mingled with their previous superstitions. 

Nearer Palembang we visited the tombs of later 
princes. A high wall encloses several separate build- 
ings from twenty to thirty feet square, and surmount- 
ed by domes, and within are the coffins, much like 



THE KUBUS. 533 

that already described. Otlier massive rectangular 
tomlos are seen outside. None of these appear to be 
very old. 

From Palembang to the mouth of the Musi is 
about fifty miles, and yet there is plenty of water 
for the largest steamers to come to the city. The 
Musi is therefore the largest river in Sumatra ; and 
Palembang gains its importance from its position as 
the head of navigation on this river, which receives 
into itself streams navigable for small boats for many 
miles. On the south is the Ogan, which, in its upper 
part, flows through a very fertile and well-peopled 
region, and which, from the descriptions given me, 
I jndge is a plateau analogous to that at Kopaiyong, 
near the source of the Musi. This region of the 
Ogan produces much pepper. North of the Musi is 
the country of the Kubus, who have been described 
to me here and at Tebing-Tingi as belonging to the 
Malay race. They are said to clothe themselves 
with bark- cloth, and to eat monkeys and reptiles of 
all kinds. They shun all foreigners and other na- 
tives, and are very rarely seen. They appear to be 
very similar in their personal appearance and habits 
to the Lubus that I saw north of Padang, and j)er- 
haps form but a branch of that people."^' It was to 
this place that the author of the " Prisoner of Welte- 
vreden " came on his filibustering expedition, and 
was seized and carried to Batavia, whence he es- 
caped. The open-hearted and generous manner in 

* The total population of this residency is estimated at 527,050, of 
which 132 are Europeans ; about 522,345 natives ; 2, TOO Chinese ; 1,716 
Arabs'; and 67 from other Eastern nations. 



534: TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

wMcli I liave been everywliere received and aided, 
botli by tbe government and by private persons, as 
lias constantly appeared on these pages, convinces 
me that any American, whose character and mission 
are above suspicion, mil be treated with no greater 
Mildness and consideration by any nation than by 
the Dutch in the East Indian Archipelago. 

May 12>tJi. — Took a small steamer for Muntoh, 
on the island of Banca, wliere the mail-boat from 
Batavia touches while on her way to Singapore. 
Muntok is a very pretty village. The houses, which 
mostly belong to Chinamen, are neatly built and 
well painted. The streets are kept in good repair, 
and the whole place has an air of enterprise and 
thrift. Here I had the pleasure of making the 
acquaintance of the chief mining engineer on the 
island. One morning we rode out a few miles to a 
granite hill, from the top of which I had a fine view 
over the Strait of Banca to the low, monotonous 
coast of Sumatra. There are but few elevations on 
Banca, and none of any considerable height. All 
are covered with a thick forest. The rocks of which 
Banca is composed are chiefly granite, and a red, 
compact sandstone or grit. The tin is disseminated 
in small particles through the whole mass of granite, 
which has slowly disintegrated and decomposed, and 
the clay and sand thus formed have been washed into 
the nearest depressions. The tin, being the heaviest 
of these materials, has settled near the bottom of each 
basin, when they have been somewhat assorted by 
the action of water. The upper strata being re- 
moved, the particles of tin are found in the lower 



BANCA. 535 

strata, and ol^tained by waslihig, just as in tlie 
process of washing similar alluvial deposits for gold. 
When the beds of all the basins on the island have 
been thoroughly washed, the yield of tin will be at 
an end, because it does not occur, as at Cornwall, in 
veins in the granite, but only in small scattered 
grains. The washing is almost wholly done by 
Chinese, who chiefly come from Amoy. 

The income of Banca '^ has been for some time 
over three million guilders per year, after deduct- 
ing the salaries of all the officials on the island, and 
the annual expense of the garrison. The chief engi- 
neer thinks that about two-thirds of all the tin on 
the island has now been taken out, but that the 
present yield will continue for some years, and a less 
one for many years after. This tin-bearing range 
of granite begins as far north on the west coast of 
the peninsula of Malacca as Tavoy. It has been 
obtained at Tenasserim, and on the island of Junk 
Ceylon, and large quantities are annually taken out 
at Malacca. It is also found on the Sumatra side of 
the strait, in the district of Kampar. The range 
reappears in the islands of Banca and Billiton, and 
again in Bali, at the eastern end of Java. 

May 14:th. — In the evening the steamer arrived 
from Batavia. For fellow-passengers I found the cap- 
tain and doctor of an English ship that had lately 
been burned in the Strait of Sunda while bound from 
Amoy to Demarara with a cargo of coolies. A pas- 
senger from her was also on board, who had written 

* The population of the island is 54,339. Of these, 116 are Euro- 
peans ; 37,070 natives ; 17,097 Chinese, and 56 Arabs. 



536 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

a book on Cocliin Cliiiia, giving liis experience wliile 
a captive in tliat land. 

May IStJi: — We continue, tliis morning, to pass 
small islands, and now, by degrees, ^ve are able to 
make out many sliips and steamers at anchor in a 
bay, and soon tbe lioiises by tke bund or street bor- 
dering tbe sliore begin to appear. We are nearing 
Singapore. A year and fourteen days liave passed 
since I landed in Java. During tliat time I have 
travelled six tliousand miles over the archipelago, 
and yet I have not once set foot on any other soil 
than that possessed by the Dutch, so great is the 
extent of their Eastern possessions. 

The activity and enterprise which characterize 
this city are very striking to one who has been liv- 
ing so long among the phlegmatic Dutchmen. Singa- 
pore, or, more correctly, Singapura, "the lion city," 
is situated on an island of the same name, which is 
about twenty-five miles long from east to Avest, and 
fourteen miles wide from north to south. 

When the English, in 1817, restored the archi- 
pelago to the Dutch, they felt the need of some 
port to j)rotect their commerce ; and in 1819, by the 
foresight of Sir Stamford Eaffles, the present site of 
Singapore was chosen for a free city. In seven years 
from that time its population numbered 13,000 ; but 
has since risen to 90,000. Its imports have risen 
from $5,808,000 in 1823 to $31,460,000 in 1863, and 
its exports from $4,598,000 in 1823 to $26,620,000 
in 1863. 

As soon as I landed, I found myself among Amer- 
ican friends, and one of them kindly introduced me 




HI 



PRESENTED WITH A PYTHON. 537 

to the Governor of the Straits Settlements, who re- 
ceived me in the most polite manner and kindly offered 
to assist me in any way in his power. At my request, 
he gave me notes of introduction to the Governor 
of Hong Kong and the admiral commanding her 
Majesty's fleet in the seas of China and Japan. A 
few days of rest after my long journeys over Suma- 
tra soon glided by, and I was ready to continue my 
travels. 

From Singapore my plan was to proceed directly 
to China, but finding in port a French ship which 
was hound for Hong Kong, via Saigon, the capital of 
Cochin China, I engaged a passage on her in order to 
see something also of the French possessions in the 
East. Just as we were ready to sail I met a gentle- 
man who had lately returned from a long jouimey to 
Cambodia, whither he had gone to photograph the 
ruins of the wonderful temples in that land. He had 
a specimen for me, he said, which I must accept before 
I knew what it was, a condition I readily complied 
with, but when the " specimen " appeared I must con- 
fess I was not a little surj^rised to find it was an enor- 
mous 2:)yt7i07i, It had been caught by the natives of 
Bankok after it had gorged itself on some unfortu- 
nate beast, but that was some time before, and the 
brute was evidently ready for another feast. My 
cans containing alcohol were already on board the 
ship, but I took the monster with me when I went 
oif to her late in the evening, designing to drown it 
in its box and then transfer his snakeship to a can. 
The captain, with the greatest politeness, met me at 
the rail, and showed me my state-room in the after- 



538 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN AECHIPELAGO. 

cabin, and the sailors began to bring my baggage, 
wlien first of all appeared tbe box containing tlie 
python ! I shouted out to the cabin-boy that that 
box must be left out on deck, and then, in a low tone, 
explained to the captain that it contained an enormous 
snake. " Tin serpent f un serpent f " he exclaimed, 
raising up both hands in horror, in such an expressive 
way as only a Frenchman can, and proceeding to de- 
clare that he ought to have known that a passenger 
who was a naturalist would be sure to fill the whole 
ship with all sorts of venomous beasts. All the 
others were little less startled, and shunned me in the 
half lighted cabin, as if. I were in league with evil 
spirits, but I quieted their fears by ordering a sailor 
to put the box into a large boat that was placed 
right side up on the main deck and promising to kill 
the great reptile to-morrow. 

May 24^A. — Early this morning we made sail, 
and I concluded to let my troublesome specimen re- 
main until we were out of the harbor, but now, in 
the changing of the monsoons, the winds are light 
and baifiing and we finally came to anchor once more ; 
and a sailor who got up into the boat said something 
about " le serpentp I was on the quarter-deck at the 
time, and determining at once not to be troubled 
more with it, jumped down on the main-deck, ran 
to the side of the boat, and seizing the box gave it 
a toss into the sea, but just as it was leaving my. 
hands I thought to myself, " How light it is ! " and 
the sailor said, " Le serpent n^est pas encore ! — pas en- 
core I " We all looked over the ship's side and there 
was the box floating quietly away, and it was evident 



THE PYTHON ESCAPES. 539 

that tlie monster liad escaped. Everyone tlien asked, 
" Wliere is he ? " but no one could tell. I assured 
the captain that he was in the box when I put it on 
the sampan to come oif to the shij). "Is he on 
board ? " was the next question from the mouths of 
all. We looked carefully in the boat and round the 
deck, but could detect no trace of him whatever, and 
all, except myself, came to the conclusion that he was 
not brought on board, and then went back to their 
work. The box in which he had been confined was 
about a foot and a half long by a foot high and 
a foot wide, and over the top were four or five 
strips of board, each fastened at either end with a 
single nail. On inquiring more closely, the sailor 
told me that before I seized the box, the side mth 
the slats was one of the perpendicular sides, and had 
not been placed uppermost, as it ought to have been. 
" Then," I reasoned, " he is here on board somewhere 
beyond a doubt, and I brought him here, and it's my 
duty to find him and kill him." 

We had four horses on deck, and the middle of 
the boat was filled with hay for them, and under 
that it was probable the great reptile had crawled 
away. In the bottom of the boat, aft, was a tri- 
angular deck, and, as I climbed up a second time, I 
noticed that the board which formed the apex of the 
triangle was loose, and moved a little to one side. 
Carefully raising this, I espied, to my horror, the 
great python closely coiled away beneath, the place 
being so small that the loose board rested on one of 
his coils. I wore a thin suit, a Chinese baju, or loose 
blouse, a pair of canvas shoes, and a large sun-hat. 



540 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

Throwing off my liat, that I miglit go into tlie dread- 
ful struggle unimpeded, I shouted out for a long 
knife, knowing well that what I must try to do was 
to cut him in two, and that he would attempt to 
catch my hand in his jaws, and, if he should succeed 
in doing that, he would wind himself around me as 
quick as a man could wind the lash of a long whip 
around a fixed stick, and certainly he was large 
enough and strong enough to crush the largest horse. 
The cook handed me a sharp knife, more than a foot 
long, and, holding the board down with my feet, I 
thrust the blade through the crack, and, wrenching 
with all my might, tried to break the great re23tile's 
back-bone, and thus render all that part of the body 
behind the fracture helpless. Despite my utmost 
efforts, he pulled away the knife, and escajDed two or 
three feet forward, where there was more room under 
the deck. By this time there was the greatest con- 
fusion. The captain, evidently believing that dis- 
cretion is the better j)art of valor, ran below the mo- 
ment he was satisfied that I had indeed discovered 
the monster, seized a brace of revolvers, and, perching 
himself upon the monkey-rail, leaned his back against 
the mizzen-rigging, and held one in each hand, ready 
to fire into the boat at the slightest alarm. The sail- 
ors all gathered round the boat, and stood perfectly 
still, apparently half- stupified, and not knowing 
whether it would be safest for them to stand still, 
climb up in the rigging, or jump overboard. The 
first mate armed himself with a revolver, and 
climbed on to the stern of the boat. Indeed, every 
moment I expected to hear a report, and find 



A STRUGGLE FOR LIFE. 54;^ 

myself shot by some of the brave ones beliind 
me. The second mate, who was the only real man 
among them all, seized a large sheath-knife, and 
climbed into the boat to help me. I knew it would 
not do to attempt to strike the monster with a 
knife where he had room enough to defend him- 
self ; I therefore threw it down, and seized a short 
handspike of iron- wood, the only wea|)on within my 
reach, and told the second mate to raise the deck, 
and I would attemj^t to finish my antagonist with 
the club, for the thought of escaping while I could, 
and leave for others to do what belonged to me, 
never entered my mind. As the deck rose I beheld 
him coiled up about two feet and a half from my 
right foot. Suffering the acutest agony from the 
deep wound I had already given him, he raised his 
head high out of the midst of his huge coil, his red 
jaws wide o]3en, and his eyes flashing fire like live 
coals. I felt the blood chill in my veins as, for an 
instant, we glanced into each other's eyes, and both 
instinctively realized that one of us two must die on 
that spot. He darted at my foot, hoping to fasten 
his fangs in my canvas shoe, but I was too quick for 
him, and gave him such a blow over the head and 
neck that he was glad to coil up again. This gave 
me time to prepare to deal him another blow, and 
thus for about fifteen minutes I continued to strike 
with all my might, and three or four times his jaws 
came within two or three inches of my canvas shoe. 
I began now to feel my strength failing, and that I 
could not hold out more than a moment longer, yet, in 
that moment, fortunately, the carpenter got his wits 



542 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 

togetlier, and tliougM of his broad-axe, and, bringing 
it to tlie side of the boat, held np the handle, so that 
I could seize it while the reptile was coiling u]) from 
the last stunning blow. The next time he darted at 
me I gave him a heavy cut about fifteen inches be- 
hind his head, severing the body completely off, ex- 
ce23t about an inch on the under side, and, as he coiled 
up, this part fell over, and he fastened his teeth into 
his own coils. One cut more, and I seized a rope, 
and, in an instant, I tugged him over the boat's side, 
across the deck, and over the ship's rail into the sea. 
The long trail of his blood on the deck assured me 
that I was indeed safe, and, drawing a long breath 
of relief, I thanked the Giver of all our blessings. 

This was my last experience in the tropical East. 
A breeze sprang up, and the ship took me rapidly 
away toward the great empire of China, where I 
travelled for a year, and passed through more con- 
tinued dangers and yet greater hardships than in 
the East Indian Archipelago. 



APPENDIX A. 



Area of the Principal Islands^ according to Baron Melville van Garribee. 



Square English 
geographical miles. 

Java and Madura 38,251.2 

Sumatra 128,560.0 

Pulo Mas 1,200.0 

Babi 480.0 

Pagi 560.0 

Banca 3,568.0 

Billiton 1,904.0 

Borneo 203,888.0 

Celebes 57,248.0 

Buton 1,379.2 

Bali 16,848.0 

Lombok 16,560.0 

Sumbawa 4,448.0 

Floris 4,032.0 



Square English 
geographical miles. 

Timur 9,808.0 

Sandal-wood Island 3,784.0 

Tenimber Islands 2,400.0 

Aru Islands 1,040.0 

Islands of Banda 17.6 

Oeram 4,944.0 

Burn 2,624.0 

Gilolo 5,016.0 

Bacbian . . . . -. 800.0 

Ternate 11.2 

Amboina 2,128.0 



Total area of the Nether- 
lands India 445.411.2 



APPENDIX B. 

Population of the Netherlands India, 1865. 



Java and Madura 

"West Coast" of Suma- 

tra,ineluding the islands 

from Nias to the Pagis . 

Kesidency of Bencoolen. . 

" " Lampong. .. 

" " Palembang. 

Banca 

Billiton 

Ehio ., 

Borneo (the parts under 
the Dutch Government) 

Celebes 

Eesidency of Amboina. . . 

» " Banda 

" " Ternate.... 

The Minahassa 

Timur 

Bali and Lombok 



Europe- 
ans. 



27,105 



1,188 
174 

52 
132 
116 

84 
136 

328 
1,176 
1,219 
545 
732 
550 
190 



Natives. 



13,704,535 

872,173 
119,691 
88,113 
522,345 
37,070 
12,786 
10,454 

802,889 

292,619 

104,841 

5,876 

2,062 

102,423 

Unknown. 

863,725 



Chinese. 



156,192 



3,172 

596 

180 

2,790 

17,097 

1,781 

19,972 

26,393 
4,385 
311 
153 
427 
1,487 
752 



Arahs. 



6,764 



54 

6 

8 

1,716 

56 



1,736 
43 
85 
12 
70 
11 
8 



Other 
Eastern 
nations 



22,772 

1,116 
47 

4,666 
67 

l",223 
119 

597 



Total -33,677 17,641,602! 235,535 10,565| 31,424 17,952,803 



Total. 



13,917,368 



877,703 
120,514 
93,019 
527,050 
54,339 
15,824 
30,683 

931,843 

298,222 

107,278 

6,586 

3,291 

104,418 

945 

863,725 



5M 



APPENDIX. 



APPENDIX 0. 

A Table of Heights of the Principal Mountains in the Archipelago. 



Height in 
Place. Eng. feet. 

Ambohsta. 

Salhutu (highest peak on 

the island) 4,010 

TEEiirATE (peak of) 5,510 

TiDOEE (peak of) 5,440 

MiNAHASSA. 

Mount Klabat 6,560 

Mount Sudara 4,390 

Mount Batu Angus 2,290 

Mount Lokon 5,140 



Height in 
Place. Eng. feet. 

MlNAHASSA. 

Mount Massarang 4,150 

Mount Tompasso 3,850 

Mount Saputan 5,960 

Mpunt Mahawut 4,170 

Mount Sempo 4,900 

Mount Katawak 3,970 

Mount Zawin 3,430 

Lake of Tondano 2,272 



HEiaHTS IN" JAVA. 



Mount KraAvang 5,771 

Salak 7,244 

Mandalawangi 9,940 

Gedeh ;. 9,750 

Sedaratu 9,591 

Alun-alun 9,100 

Papandayang 7,477 

Pasir Alang 8,387 

Taman Saat 7,908 

Ohikorai 9,233 

Telaga Bodas 5,874 

Highest edge of Galunggong. 5,320 

Galunggong 3,825 

Slamat 11,329 



Sindoro 10,316 

Merbabu 10,219 

Sumbing 10,947 

Lawu 10,727 

Dorowati 8,480 

Kawi 9,408 

Arjuno 10,947 

Semiru 12,235 

Budolembu, highest peak in 

the Tenger Mountains. . . 8,705 

Boromo 7,545 

Ajang 9,896 

Eaon 10,177 



HEIGHTS IN STJMATEA. 

Padang Hill (Apenberg) 341 

Kayu Tanam 403 

Padang Panjang 2,432 

Port Gugur Sigandang, the highest point on the col between 

Singalang and Merapi 3,677 

From this place to Matua is the plateau of Agam — Matua is 3,389 

Bambang 2,028 

Pisang 1,685 

Kumpodang (where we crossed the brook and found a controleur 

making a bridge, etc.) 670 

Bondyol 735 

Water-shed just before coming to Libu Sik^ping 2,132 

Libu Sik^ping 1,511 

Eau 972 

"Water-shed between Eau and Kota Nopan 2,132 

That above Kota JSTopan , 1,351 



APPENDIX. 



545 



Feet. 

Water-shed between Tobing and Uraba 2,451 

Last hills crossed before coming down to Eik Bediri. 600 to 800 

Dundgns Nasi (island passed in coming from Siboga) 800 

Mount Talang (Orawfurd's Dictionary) 10,500 

Mount Singalang 9,634 

Mount Merapi. 9,570 

Mount Sago, about 5,862 

Mount Ophir 9,770 

Mount Kalabu (west of Eau) 5,115 

Mount Seret Merapi 5,860 

Mount Pitya K^ling. 680 

Lubu Eajah 6,234 

Height of the plateau of Toba, about 4,000 

Sinkara, greatest depth ' 1,193 

Bottom of Silindong Valley 8,144 

B^^kit Gedang, the edge of the old crater crossed in going doAvn 

to Manindyu 3,624 

Lake of Manindyu • . . . . 1,541 

Tanjong Alam, on the road from Fort van der Oapellen to Paya 

Kombo 3,428 

Paya Kombo 1,704 

Height of SiHndong Valley {e. g., at Uta Galong) 3,144 

Height of Toba' Valley about 4,000 

Mount Indrapura, estimated at 12,255 

Mount Luse, in the territory of Achin, in 3'^ 40' N". (Orawfurd). 11,250 
Mount Lombok, according to Melville van Oarnbee, by triangu- 

lation, about 12,368 



APPEiroiX D. 

Coffee "sold "by the Oovernment at Padang. 



TEAR. 


Total quantity. 


Exported to U. S. 


Average price. 


1856 


Fields. 
125,000 
150,000 
185,000 
145,000 
151,000 
150,000 
135,000 

164,406 


Ficuls. 
65,521 

6,037 
72,010 
46,285 
19,536 
18,715 
15,971 
23,745 
48,543 


Guilders. 
30.84 


1857 


33.78 


1858 


25.25 


1859 


32.09 


I860 


34.59 


1861 


34.67 


1862 


41.15 


1868 




1864 


39.56 



35 



6i6 



APPENDIX. 



APPENDIX E. 
Trade ofja/va and Madura during 1864. 



COTTNTEIES. 
AEEIVALS. 

From Holland 

From other parts of Europe 

From the United States 

From the Cape of Good Hope 

From India 

From China, Manilla, and Siam 

From Mauritius 

From Japan 

From Australia 

From the eastern parts of the archipelago 

Total.. 

DEPAETUEES. 

For Holland 

For other parts of Europe 

For the United States 

For India 

For China, Manilla, and Siam 

For Japan ". 

For Australia 

For the eastern parts of the archipelago . 

Total 



No. of ships. 



2,759 



Tonnage. 



197 


143,250 


69 


34,193 


24 


12,610 


7 


4,132 


18 


9,060 


128 


45,067 


4 


1,034 


4 


843 


68 


29,548 


2,138 


141,462^ 


2,657 


423,083i 


396 


267,260 


9 


3,338 


3 


2,258 


8 


4,755 


73 


22,508 


5 


1,878 


20 


4,338 


2,245 


151,0661 



577,4011 



Note. — ^For a list of the birds and shells collected by the author, 
during the voyages described in this volume, and for other scientific 
papers relating thereto, see the Memoirs and Proceedings of the Bos- 
ton Society of Natural History, and the American Journal of Science 
for 1868 and 1869. 



INDEX. 



Abreu, Antonio d', sent to search for the 
Spice Islands, 23 ; is the first to 
reach the Bandas, 215 ; pillars of 
discovery erected by, 256. 

Achin, country, people, and trade, 448 ; 
English appear at, 449. 

Alfura, name whence derived and its 
signification, 203, and note ; bloody 
laws of, in Ceram, 205 ; of Kaibobo, 
207; drunken revels of, 209, 210; 
of Buru, their customs and belief, 
2Yl-2'73, of the Minahassa, 365. 

Amahai, bay of, described, 202 ; village 
of, Vo. 

Amboina, residence of Rumphius, 13 ; 
island and city described, 130-132 ; 
fiimous for its shells, 133 ; hfe of for- 
eigners at, 211 ; trade of, 249. 

Amuk^ defined, 383. 

Anak gadis, or virgin children, 497, 507. 

Anoa depressicoriiis, an antelope, 325. 

Ants, abundance of and trouble caused 
by, 288, 289. 

Army, headquarters of Javanese, 43 ; 
Dutch, in Sumatra, 456. 

Arrack, how made, 68. 

Arriens, governor of the Moluccas, 213 ; 
kind invitation given the author, ib. ; 
visits Banda, 213 et seq. 

Am Islands, account of, 244. 

Assilulu, visit to the village of, 149- 
161. 

Ayar Bangis, port of, 453. 

B. 

Baba, island of, described, 127. 

Babirusa, skulls of, 150; distribution 
of, ib. ; young one seen at Kayeli, 
292 ; author hunts for, on Limbi, 
325 ; one commits suicide, 331. 



Bachian, island of, described, 299 ; 
great python killed on, 334; fauna 
of, 380. 

Bajii^ a, described, 34. 

Bali, described, 93 ; fauna of, ib. ; sep- 
aration from Java, 93, 94 ; fauna of, 
94 ; rehgion of, 95, 96. 

Bcdi^ a town hall, 477. 

Bamboo, used by the Malays, 86. 

Banana, tree and fruit described, 84, 
85 ; native name for, 159 ; different 
kinds, ih. 

Banca, description and geology of, 534 ; 
income of, 535. 

Banda, author arrives at, 128, and re- 
visits, 214 ; description of tlae group, 
214, 215 ; early inhabitants of, 216 ; 
religion of, ib. ; natives of, extermi- 
nated by the Dutch, 217 ; convicts 
banished to, 217, 218 ; the group 
only walls of a crater, 224 ; compared 
with that of the Tenger Mountains, 
ih. ; nutmeg parks on, 227 ; residency 
of, 242. 

Banteng, the Bos sotidaiciis, 72. 

Bantiks, a people near Menado, 343. 

Barros, Jao de, history of, 97, note ; 
his description of Celebes, 97 ; de- 
scribes the many languages spoken in 
the Moluccas, 163 ; his description 
of the Bandas, 215, 216. 

Barns, a port in Sumatra, 442. 

Batavia, purpose of going to, 13 ; foun- 
dation of, 24 ; police of, 383. 

Batta, grave of a, 417 ; Lands, a descrip- 
tion of, 423 ; are cannibals, 424 ; re- 
ferred to by Marco Polo, 425 ; by Sir 
Stamford RafHes, ib. ; draw the au- 
thor's carriage, 426, 427 ; author 
visits a village of, 440 ; houses of, 
ib. ; eat a man, 442 ; missionaries 
among, 443 ; Madame Pfeiffer among, 
444 ; kill two American missionaries, 



548 



INDEX. 



445 ; origin of their cannibal customs, 
446. 
Barbosa, Odardo, cited, 63 ; history of, 
- 100, note; describes the natives of 
Celebes, 100. 
Bears, of Sumatra, 510, 511. 
Bencoolen, bay of, 486 ; history of, 487, 

489. 
Benzoin, a resin, 63. 
Betel-nut; tree described, 180; mode 

of chewing the, 181. 
Birds. — Bird that guarded the double 
cocoa-nut tree, 15 ; of Java, 80, 81 ; 
trade in, on the coast of New Guinea, 
242 ; luris, ib. ; crown pigeons {Me- 
gapodiidece), 242; doves (Cohcmba 
cenea and Columha perspicillata), fruit 
planted by, 243 ; of paradise found 
at Aru Islands, 244 ; Pigafetta's ac- 
count of, ib. ; king-fishers at the 
Bandas, 246 ; Pitta vifforsi, a rare 
species, ib. ; Carpophaga luctuosa, a 
white dove, 255, 268 ; the prince par- 
rot {Platycercus liypoplwnius), de- 
scription of, i6.y luris, red {Eos rubra), 
256, 259 ; king-fishers at Burn, 258 ; 
hunting luris, 259 ; parrakeets, ib. ; 
Triclioglossus cyanogrammus, ib. ; 
luris, Moore's description of, 260 ; 
Tanygnathus inacrorynchus, a large, 
green parrot, 268; Carpophaga per- 
spicillata, a long-tailed dove, ib.; Mus- 
cicapidce, ib. ; Mona^'cha loricata, ib. ; 
Tropidorynchus bourue?isis, 269 ; 
Anas raJaJi, or " prince duck," 283 ; 
author incurs great danger in procur- 
ing, ib. ; castori rajah, 289 ; Mega- 
podius Forsteni, ib. ; M. Wallacei, ib. ; 
mode of shooting, skinning, and pre- 
serving, 288, 289; Corvusenka, 335 ; 
Dicnirus, ib. 

Birgos latro, the great hermit crab, 148. 

Bleeker, Dr., on the geology of Laitimur, 
247 ; on the ichthyology of Lake Linu, 
344. 

Bloodsuckers, author tortured by, 492, 
493, 508. 

Boats, with outriggers, 57 ; see also 
lepper-lepper. 

Bonang, the, described, 190. 

Bonoa, situation of, 253. 

Bosche, Governor Van den ; entertains 
the author at Padang, 387. 

Bos sondaicus; the ox of Madura, 72. 

Bread-fruit, tree and fruit described, 
92. 

Breech-loader, Sharpe's, 43. 



Bridge, suspension, made of rattan, 
428, 430 ; of bamboo, 474 ; of rattan, 
475. 

Bua, valley of, 462 ; cave of, 463, 464. 

Buffalo, the, described, 35 ; habits of, 
35, 36 ; color of, 36 ; fights with 
tigers, 36 ; wild ones in Sumatra, 
413. 

Buru, described, 256 ; history of, 270, 
271 ; Alfura of, and their customs and 
belief, 271-273 ; alternation of sea- 
sons in, 298. 

Buton, description and geology of, 380, 
381. 



C. 



Camphor-trees, described, 433 ; kinds 
of, ih. 

Campong, a, described, 132. 

Cannibals ; mode of eating men, 444 ; 
see also Battas. 

Cassowarv, eggs of, 150 ; habitat of the, 
ib. 

Cauto, Diogo de, history of, 98, note ; 
his description of Celebes, 98, 99. 

Celebes ; description and history of, 97- 
100 ; northern peninsula of, 322 ; 
gold-mines in, 379 ; fauna of, 380. 

Cemcteiy, Chinese, at Batavia, 35. 

Ceram, described, 201, 202 ; head- 
hunters of, 203 ; Alfura, ib. ; landing 
on the south coast of, 207 ; alterna- 
tion of seasons in, 298. 

Cernm-laut, natives of, 242 ; elevation 
of, 243. 

Cervus rufa, 80 ; niantjac, ib. 

Chair, to travel in, described, 141, 142. 

Chilachap, port of, 57. 

Christmas Island, passed, 13. 

Cinnamon, kinds of, and their distribu- 
tion, 425. 

Cleft, of Padang Panjang, 390-392 ; 
459, 460. 

Clove, tree and fruit described, 153 ; 
distribution of, 153, 154; quantities 
obtained in previous years, 153 ; 
mode of gathering the, 155; names 
for, 156 ; history of, 157 ; yield of, 
in Saparua, Haruku, and Nusalaut, 
197. 

Clypeastridce, abvindiViWi at Saparua, 186. 

Coal, near Siboga, 436 ; near Bencoolen, 
492-495 ; abundance of, 494 ; on the 
Limatang, 521 ; on the Inem, 524. 

Cock-fighting, Malay passion for, 61. 

Cocoa-nut, the double, 14 ; palm, de- 



INDEX. 



549 



scribed, 81-83 ; oil, mode of mak- 
ing, 83 ; kind eaten by Malays, 82, 
83 ; importance of, 84 ; beaches lined 
with trees of, 149 ; a portable foun- 
tain, ib. ; abundance of, on the upper 
Liraatang, 523 ; rafts of, ih. 

Cocoa-trees at Amboina, 138; history 
of, 138, 139. 

Coffee, store-houses for, at Menado, 
346 ; history of, 347-349 ; how 
brought to Padang and when sold, 
453 ; exports to the United States, 
455, and Appendix D. ; where large 
quantities could be profitably I'aised, 
504, 505. 

Coir, a rope made of gomuti fibres, 
3'70. 

Controleur, duties of, 67 ; in Ceram 
summons the head-hunters, 203. 

Cooking, Eastern mode of, 31. 

Coral, Meandrinas, or " brain corals," 
285 ; different kinds of, and appear- 
ance beneath the sea, 285-287 ; 
Fung'ulce^Gorgonias, raised reefs, 508. 

Cotton, raised by the natives on the 
Limatang, 527. 

Crawfurd, Mr. John, cited, 96 ; in re- 
gard to Mount Tomboro, 108. 



D. 



Damma, described, 126 ; hot springs in, 
126, 127. 

Deer, author hunts, on Buru, 290-292 ; 
their venison smoked and made into 
dinding, 292 ; Axis maculata, 387 ; 
hunted by tigers, 413. 

Diaz, Bartholomew, his discovery of 
southern extremity of Africa, 22. 

Dilli, city of, 122; name whence de- 
rived, 124. 

Diving, skilful, 103, 

Draco volans, described, 144. 

Dugong found at Aru Islands, 244. 

Dxtku, the, described, 90. 

Durian tree and fruit described, 91, 92. 

E. 

Earl, Mr., cited in regard to a plateau, 

95 ; people near Dilli, 116. 
Earthquake, experienced by the author 

at Amboina,167-169 ; diseases caused 

by several, 169, 170. 
Elephants, native mode of killing, 495 ; 

author comes near a stray one, 513 ; 

distribution of, ib. 



Elizabeth, Queen ; her letter to the 

rajah of Achin, 449, note. 
Eugene Sue, describes Rahden Saleh, 

38. 
Exquisite, an Eastern, described, 42. 



Feest Kalcian, a revel of the head-hunt- 
ers, 210. 

Fever, Batavia, described, 39. 

Fishes ; large one caught at Limbi, 332 ; 
Ophiocephalus sfriaius, 354 ; Anabas 
scandens, ib. ; Anguilla Elphinstonei, 
ib. 

Fishing, boats used by Malays, 52 ; 
Malay mode of, 329. 

Floris described, 111 ; cannibals of, ib. 

Flj'ing-fish, 106 ; can fly during a calm, 
122. 

Forest, home iu a tropical, 261 ; na- 
ture's highway through, 263. 

Fountain, "youth's radiant," quoted 
from Moore, 297. 

Fringilla oryzivora, the rice-bird, 80. 

G. 

Gallus hankiva, 60, 61 ; other species 
of, 60. 

Galunggong, Mount ; eruption of, 75, 
76 ; compared with the Tenger Moun- 
tains, 77. 

Gambang, of Java, 190. 

Gambling, Malay vice of, 61. 

Geology, of Timur, near Kupang, 119, 
120 ; of the Banda group, 241 ; of 
Amboina, 247 ; of Buru, 263, 293 ; 
of Bachian, 299 ; of the Minahassa, 
376 ; of Gorontalo, 379 ; of Buton, 
381 ; of a cliff at Tapanuli Bay, 441 ; 
of the Padang plateau, 477 ; of the 
cliffs of Bencoolen Bay, 489, 490 ; of 
the region near Tebing Tingi, 508 ; 
of the region of the upper Limatang, 
522 ; of Banca, 534. 

Gilhbanta, passed, 187. 

Gilolo, west coast of, 310; Alfura of, 
311 ; " the bloodhounds " of, ib. 

Goitre, prevalent in the interior of Su- 
matra, 416 ; probable cause of, ib. 

Gold-mines in Celebes, 379 ; geological 
age of, ib. ; mines in Sumatra, 404- 
406 ; distribution of, 406 ; ornaments 
of, 431,432; mode of obtaining, 432. 

Gomuti palm, fibres of, 350 ; made 
into a rope, 370 ; tuak or wine of, 371. 

Goram, situation of, 243. 



550 



INDEX. 



Gorontalo, bay of, 3'7'7; country and 
tribes near, 3*78. 

Gresik, village of, 56. 

Gunong Api, of Sapi Strait, 106, 107 ; 
of Banda, 214-219 ; author ascends, 
228 ; description of, 228-234 ; ac- 
count of eruptions of, 237 ; the one 
near Wetta, 245 ; of Banda compared 
to Ternate, 317. 

H. 

Haruku, one of the Uliassers, 178 ; 
north coast of, 182 ; population and 
description of, ih. 

Head-hunters, of Ceram, 203 ; clothing, 
203, 204 ; dance of, ib. ; of Sawai 
Bay, 205, 206. 

Hinduism, history of, 62. 

Hitu, a part of Amboina, 130; remark- 
able appearance of hills on, 131 ; 
excursion along the coast of, 141. 

Horse, author thrown from a, 341 ; 
of Sumatra, 409. 

Hospital, at Batavia, 39. 

Houtman, commander of first Dutch 
fleet to the East, 24 ; arrives at Ter- 
nate, 307. 

Hukom, £iza, Kadua, 7\ca, and Kachil, 
meaning of, 338. 

Hunting in the tropics, 139. 



Ice, used in the East, 31 ; whence 
brought, and where manufactured, 31. 

Inkfish, an Octopus, author dines on, 
172. 



Java, Sea, 19 ; meaning of the word, 21 ; 
described by Ludovico Barthema, 23 ; 
compared with Cuba, 77-79 ; descrip- 
tion of, 77, 78 ; population of, 78 ; 
imports and exports, 79 ; forests, ib. ; 
fauna, 79-81 ; flora, 81-89 ; separated 
from Sumatra and Bali, 93, 94. 

Jewels, from the heads of wild boars, 
151 ; Rumphius's account of, 152. 

Jukes, Mr., cited on the geology of 
Sandal-wood Island, 112; Timur, 
119. 

Junghuhn, Dr., cited, 52, 53, 109. 

K. 

Kayeli, bay of, 256; village of 257; 



description of, 269 ; history of, 270 ; 

a threatening fleet arrive off, 283. 
Kayu-puti, trees and oil described, 282, 

283; distribution of, 283. 
Kema, village of, 323 ; great python 

killed near, 334. 
Ki, some account of the group, 243. 
Kissa, described, 125. 
Klings, whence their name, 63 ; early 

voyages of, to the archipelago, 405. 
Kloff, Captain ; describes the natives 

of Kissa, 125. 
Korinchi, reformers of, 471. 
Kubus, the tribe of, described, 533. 
Kupang, village of, 113; bay of, ib.' 

population of, 114; oranges of, ib. 

L. 

Ladangs, native gardens, 264. 

Lepers, author visits a village of, 343 ; 
description of the, 343-346 ; descrip- 
tion of the disease, 345. 

Lepper-lepper, a native boat, 165 ; 
dangerous voyage in, 165, 166. 

Letti, described, 125. 

Limatang, river of, 518, 520, 521; au- 
thor descends, 521-533. 

Limbi, an island near Kema, 324 ; author 
visits for Babirusa, 324-332. 

Living, Eastern mode of, 32. 

Lombok, the, described, 264. 

Lombok, island of, separated fcom Bal'v 
93 ; fauna of, 94 ; flora, ib. 

Lontar, one of the Banda Islands, 214 
shores of, 219; author visits it, 223- 
227 ; beautiful nutmeg-groves of, 225. 

Lotus, fragrant, 358 ; laud of, by Ten- 
nyson, 366. 

Lubus, tribe of, 411 ; habits, 419. 

M. 

Macassar, harbor of, 100 ; praus of, 100, 

101 ; city of, 103-105 ; tombs of 

princes near, 105. 
Madura, a low island, 55 ; Strait of, 56 ; 

cattle of, 60; south coast of, 71; 

whence its name, ib. ; coffee-trees on, 

72 ; manufacture of salt on, 72. 
Magellan, Ferdinand, his discovery of 

the Spice Islands, 305-307. 
Maize, history of, 265-267. 
Makian, island of, described, 299 ; 

eruptions of, 299, 300. 
Malabrathrum, a gum, 62. 
Malay, first sight of, 18 ; language of, 

20; physical characteristics of, 33^ 



INDEX. 



551 



34 ; passion for gambling, ib. ; are 
mostly Mohammedans, ib. ; language 
affected by the Portuguese, 122 ; 
speak many dialects, 162, 163 ; mi- 
grations of, from Gilolo, 313. 

Mango, tree and fruit described, 89, 
90, 148. 

Mangostin, described, 88, 89. 

Manindyu, lake of, 397 ; crater of, 399, 
401 ; village of, ib. 

Marco Polo, his account of Java, 21. 

Marriage, feast at Kayeli, 274 ; Mo- 
hammedan laws in regard to, 275 ; at 
Amboina, 275-278 ; Malay ideas of, 
279. 

Matabella, situation of group, 243 ; 
Wallace's description of, ib. 

Menado, village of, 342 ; bay of, 346, 
351 ; Tua, an island, 346. 

Menangkabau, kingdom of, 394 ; former 

■ capitals of, 468 ; history of, 469-474 ; 
arts in, 472, 473. 

Minahassa ; the most beautiful spot on 
the globe, 316 ; mode of travelling 
in, 335 ; population of, and area, 339 ; 
cataract in, 356 ; mud -wells and 
hot springs in, 358-364 ; Alfura of, 
365 ; most charming view in, 369 ; 
products of, 370, 375 ; graves of the 
aborigines of, 373 ; Christianity and 
education in, 375 ; geology of, 376. 

Mittara ; small island near Ternate, 317. 

Mohammedan religion, first converts 
to', 51 ; at Gresik, 56 ; jealousy, 159 ; 
requires the shaving of the head, 
273 ; filing the teeth, 274. 

Moluccas, history of the, 146 ; population 
and how divided, 195 ; Catholicism 
in, 307, 308 ; Christianity introduced, 
308 ; of what islands composed, 309. 

Monkeys, of Sumatra and Java, 408, 
409; large troops of, 410; sagacity 
of, 478 ; a flock of, 509, 

Monsoons, calms during the changing 
of, 16 ; name whence derived, 44 ; 
east and west, ib. ; rainy, 45 ; sky 
thick in the eastern, 120 ; eastern at 
Amboina, Ceram, Buru, and New 
Guinea, 128, 129 ; western boundary 
of, 486. 

Mosque, Mohammedan, in Samarang, 
50. 

Mount, Ungarung, 45 ; Slamat, ib. ; 
Sumbing, 46 ; Prau, residence of the 
gods, 46-48 ; Japara, 48 ; Tenger, 73 ; 
Bromo, 74 ; Tomboro, eruption of, 
108-110; Tompasso, 357; Singalang, 



393 ; Merapi, ib. ; Ophir, 404 ; Seret 

Merapi, 420, 422 ; Lubu Eajah, 423 ; 

Sago, 461-468 ; Talang, 480 ; XJlu 

Musi, 499 ; Dempo, 516. 
Mud-wells, in the Minahassa, 359-364. 
Miiller, Dr. S., ascended Gunong Api of 

Banda in 1828, 236. 
Musa paradisiaca, the banana-tree, 85 ; 

iextilis, 340. 

N. 

Natal, port of, 453. 

Nautilus, shells of, purchased at Ku- 
pang, 119; said to be common on 
Rotti, ib. ; those secured at Amboina, 
134, 135. 

Navigating mud-flats, 57. 

Nusalaut, name whence derived, 178 ; 
author visits, 187 ; surrounded by a 
platform of coral, 187 ; natives of, in 
ancient costume, ib. ; description and 
population of, 188. 

Nutmeg-tree, when found, 215 ;, gath- 
ered by the natives, 216 ; description 
of tree and fruit, 222 ; mode of cur- 
ing the fruit, 222, 22l 

0. 

Orangbai, an, described, 136. 
Orang-utan, habits of, 408, 409. 
Ophir, whence the gold of, 405. 
Opium, mode of selling and smoking, 
279-282 ; history of, 280. 



Padang, city of, 385; Panjang, 392; 
Sidenipuan, 423. 

Padangsche Bovenlanden, or Padang 
plateau, 390 ; native houses in, 393 ; 
dress of the natives of, 394; author 
travels in. Chap. XV. ; geology of, 
477. 

Paddi, described, 66. 

Pagi Islands ; natives of, and thei) 
habits, 482, 483. 

Pal embang, author arrives at, 529 ; de 
scription and history of, 530, 531 
mosque of, 531 ; Lama, 532. 

Pandamts, a screw-pine, 84. 

Papandayang, Mount, eruption of, 74, 
75. 

Papaw, tree and fruit described, 85. 

Papua, natives of, 311, 312; taxe» 
levied on, 314 ; author thinks of go- 
ing to, 315. 



552 



INDEX. 



Pasuma, plateau and people of, 616-519. 

Pedatis, described, 68. 

Pepper, an article of trade, 446-44.-8 ; 
distribution of and native names for, 
447, 448. 

Periplus of the Erytlirgean Sea, 62. 

Pigafetta, bis account of birds of para- 
dise, 244 ; account of the Philippines, 
S08. 

Pina-cloth, how made, 143. 

Pine-apples, introduction and history 
of, 142. 

Piper hotel, leaves of, chewed by the Ma- 
lays, 181. 

Pirates, in the Moluccas, 318; from 
China, ih. ; from Mindanao, 319 ; 
Malays escape from, 320 ; a surprise 
of, ib. ; praus of, 321 ; a challenge 
from, ib. ; Dutch cruise for, 322. 

Plough, kind used by Malays, 36 ; 
mode of using, 36,. 3*7. 

Pompelmus, a gigantic orange, 19. 

Ponies, Javanese, 65. 

Post-coaches of Java, 64. 

Pumice-stone, great quantities of, 110. 

Python, one seen near Kema, 333 ; 
stories concerning, 333-335 ; author 
presented with one, 537 ; it escapes, 
539 ; author has a deadly struggle 
with, 541. 



E. 



EafiBes, Sir Stamford, history of, 488. 

Eailroads in Java, 49. 

Rambutan, described, 89. 

Panjaus, 86. 

Eattan, kinds of, 511 ; how gathered, 
511, 512. 

Eeef, first coral, visited, 123 ; author's 
boat strikes on one, 183 ; waves break- 
ing on a, 199. 

Eeinwai-dt, Professor, cited, 53 ; as- 
cended Gunong Api of Banda, in 
1821, 236; predicts an eruption, 312. 

Eejangs, customs and laws, 496-498. 

Eeynst, Gerard, arrival at Banda, 236. 

Ehinoceros, native pits for, 495 ; dis- 
tribution of, 509. 

Eice, manner of gathering in Java, 66. 

Eivers ; Musi and its vallev, 499 ; Inem, 
521, 522. 

Eoads, post, in Java, 64. 

Eoma, described, 126. 

Eoses, abundance of, in the Minahassa, 
352, 366. 

Kotti, island of, 116 ; people of, ib. 



Puma negri, a public house, 355 ; beau- 
tiful one, 366. 

Puma, Satan, or Devil's Dwelling, author 
visits, 437-442. 

Eumphius ; his " Eariteit Kamer " re- 
ferred to by Linnasus, 13; grave of, 
250; sketch of life of, 251. 

S. 

Saccharum, sinensis, 69 ; officinarum, 
ih. ; violacewni, ib. 

Sacrifice, human, 117. 

Saleh, Eahden, palace of, 37, 38 ; man- 
ners and acquirements of, 38 ; de- 
scribed by Eugene Sue, ih. 

Salt, manufacture in Madura, 72 ; Java, 
72, 73 ; Borneo and Philippines, 73 ; 
quantity of, ib. ; prices of, 73, note. 

Samarang, arrive at, 45 ; described, 48. 

Sainhal, described, 32. 

Sandal-wood Island, description of, 113 ; 
horses of, ih. 

Sandy Sea, the, 74. 

Saparua, name whence derived, 178 ; 
island described, 184 ; history, ih. ; 
town of, 184, 185 ; bay of, 186. 

Sa-jn, described, 60. 

Sarong, description of the, 18, 34. 

Sawai bay, people of, 205. 

Sawas, described, 66 ; fertility of, 67. 

Schneider, Dr., cited, 120, 247. 

Schools, in the Spice Islands, 193 ; how 
supported, ib. ; welcome to the Eesi- 
dent, 194; classes of, 195. 

Sclater, Mr., cited, 94. 

Semao, island of, 113. 

Sequiera, first brings Portuguese into 
Eastern Archipelago, 23. 

Shells, collecting, at Kupang, 117-119 ; 
Trochus mamoratus, 175 ; Strombus 
latissimus, 176 ; Scalaria pretiosa, 
185 ; Cyprcea moneta, 186 ; best 
place in the Spice Islands to gather, 
198; harp, ih. ; Miira episcopalis and 
papalis, 199 ; Tridacna gigas, found 
on hills, 248 ; Auricula in Ceram, 
255 ; Rostellaria rectirostris, ib. 

Siboga, author comes to the village of, 
434 ; country about, 435, et seq.; coal 
near, 436. 

Singapore, history and description of, 
536. 

Sinkara, lake of, 476 ; kampong, ib. 

Siri, Malay name for the Piper betel, 181. 

Snakes, swimming, 14. 

Springs, Damraa, 126; in Java, 127; 
hot, in the Minahassa, 360-364. 



INDEX. 



553 



Strait, Sunda, 13-19 ; Sapi, passed 
through, 106-108. 

Styrax benzoin, described, 63. 

Sugar-cane, kinds of, 69 ; history of, 
69, '70. 

Sugar-Loaf Island, passed, 121. 

Sulphur, fi'om volcanoes, 53. 

Sumatra, grand mountains of, 43 ; au- 
thor travels in, 384-532 ; Dutch army 
in, 456 ; Hinduism in, 4*71 ; Moham- 
medanism hi, 4*71 ; unimproved areas 
in, 502 ; true source of the wealth of, 
505. 

Sumbawa, seen, 107 ; Mount Tomboro 
in, 108. 

Sundanese, a language of Java, 25. 

Surabaya ; business of, 56 ; shipping at, 
ib. ; harbor of, 57 ; situation of, ib. ; 
population of, ib. ; dock-yard, 58 ; 
machine-shops, ib. ; artillery works, 
59 ; streets of, 60. 

Surakarta, residence of Javanese 
princes, 26. 

Surf, on south coast of Ceram, 208 ; re- 
volt in, 257. 



Tandu, a, described, 49. 

Tanjong 0, feared by the natives, 200 ; 
Fiasco, beautiful sunset seen at, S77. 

Tapanuli, bay of, 434, 436 ; geology of 
a cliff near, 441 ; natives that come 
to the bay of, 448. 

Teak, durability of, and different pur- 
poses used for, 59 ; abundant in Java, 
79 ; distribution of, 267. 

Telegraph-lines in Java and Sumatra, 
65. 

Tenger Mountains, seen, 73 ; Sandy Sea 
in, 74; Bromo in, ib.; compared with 
the Bandas, 241. 

Ternate, island and village of, described, 
300, 303, 304 ; history and account 
of the eruptions of, 300-309; the 
prince of, and his territory, 309, 310 ; 
trade of, 315 ; author experiences 
four earthquakes at, in four days, 
316; houses of foreigners at, 317. 

Tidore, peak and village of, 312, 313 ; 
prince of, 313. 

Tifa, a kind of drum, 137 ; discordant 
sounds of, 179 ; mode of beating, 180. 

Tigers, ravages of, 413 ; native traps 
for, 491 ; natives des*-"->yed, 503, 504 ; 



fight with a bear, 510 ; abundance of, 
513-517. 

Timur, different races on, 115; south- 
east monsoon in, ib. ; northwestern 
coast of, 121. 

Timur-laut, described, 127; natives of, 

■ at Banda, 218. 

Tin, distribution of, 535. 

Tobacco, history of, 265, 266. 

Tondano, lake of, 367, 368 ; village of, 
368 ; Klabat, mantled with clouds, 
369 ; tragedy occurred near, 372. 

Trees. — Upas, 54 ; Antiaris toxicaria, 
54, 55 ; anchar, 55 ; Artocarpus in- 
cisa, and integrifolia, 92, 93 ; Caj-o- 
phyllus aromaticus, the clove, 153; 
Palmyra palm, 222; Borassus Jiabelli- 
formis, ib. ; Myristica moschata, the 
nutmeg, ih. ; Tedona grandis, the 
teak, 267. 

Tripang, described, 101-103. 

U. 

Uliassers, described, 178. 



Valentyn, his description of an earth- 
quake wave, 240 ; history of Buru, 
270; history of Ternate, 304; de- 
scribes the eruption of Mount Ke- 
maas, 336, 337. 

Valley of Poison, 53. 

Van Dijk, cited, 476, 492, 494. 

Vidua, Carlo de, sinks in a solfatara, 
354. 

Viverra musanga, 79, 80. 

W. 

Wakasihu, visit to the village of, 161- 
164 : rajah of, 161 ; shells gathered 
at, 162. 

Wallace, A. E., cited, 94, 95 ; list of the 
birds of paradise, 341, note. 

Wetta, described, 124. 

Wilkinson, Sir Gardner, cited, 62. 



Xavier, St. Francis, visits the Moluccas, 
307. 



Zoological gardens, at Batavia, 38 ; at 
Sam a rang, 60. 



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